The Philadelphia Union begin a busy stretch when they hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday night at Inter Miami.
But that challenge will give manager Jim Curtin the chance to test what many believe is the deepest squad in the league.
Next week, Philadelphia (1-0-0, 3 points) is one of five MLS teams that begin play in the 16-team CONCACAF Champions League, where they’ll play at least two additional matches and as many as eight between now and early June.
And after a convincing 4-1 win over Columbus to open the season last Saturday, a deep run certainly seems possible. And that has translated into an added intensity in training, Curtin says, because everyone wants to play a role.
“We have a plan in place now, and we will really trust our roster,” he said. “We just played today (in practice) in two even teams, 11 v. 11. And you can tell guys are really fighting for their spot both in the starting group and also in the 20-man roster.”
The Union came back from a goal down against Columbus, paced by two penalty-kick tallies from Daniel Gazdag and two more from Julian Carranza in open play.
Last season, Gazdag scored 22 goals and Carranza added 14 goals to help the Union reach the 2022 MLS Cup final, where they lost to Los Angeles FC on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw.
Meanwhile, Miami (1-0-0, 3 points) defeated visiting CF Montreal 2-0 in the team’s own season opener.
Defender Serhiy Kryvstof scored on a corner-kick header a few minutes before halftime, then Shanyder Borgelin added a second goal 14 minutes before full time expired.
After Miami lost both leading scorer Gonzalo Higuain to retirement and playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo to an expired contract this offseason, the victory may have been a needed morale boost for a team weathering a roster overhaul.
“The victory against Montreal gives us a big boost,” Miami manager Phil Neville said. “But we know we’ve got a lot of work to do to get to the levels that we know we can.”
–Field Level Media
