Things we learned from the Union’s 4-1 victory over the Chicago Fire

1. A good comeback

It goes without saying that the Philadelphia Union’s performance against FC Cincinnati wasn’t up to par. But once again, Philadelphia has shown that they are well above their worst performances. A similar disappointing result against Chicago earlier in the season created the same bounce-back from this squad. A 3-1 loss at Cincinnati generated a 4-1 win against Chicago. 

Chicago isn’t the best team, but ahead of their matchup in Philadelphia, the Fire was one of the hottest team’s in the league. Good wins against solid teams are what great teams do. 

2. Mikael Uhre doesn’t always need to score

Stop the presses, Mikael Uhre hasn’t scored in two matches. In fact, he hasn’t scored in the Union’s last three out of four matches. All the same, this is where Uhre has shown his quality the most. Without a doubt, Uhre was brought into Philly as a goalscorer. It’s why the Union put up so much money for a forward soon to enter his prime. But a forward won’t score every match, and Uhre, like any mortal man, hasn’t. 

Even without a goal, it’s hard to deny the Dane’s involvement. I mean, just look at this assist. What a ball. 

Even on Julian Carranza’s run, it was Uhre’s original shot that rebounded off of Gaga Slonina to grant Carranza the easiest goal he’ll have in his life. 

The front three is really clicking for Philadelphia, and Mikael Uhre deserves a lot of the credit.

3. A good comeback, the sequel

A brief round of applause should go to the Union for scoring a quick goal to respond to Chicago early in the second half. It’s taken for granted these days, but plenty of teams fall apart after giving up an unexpected goal, and the Union used to be one of those teams. 

Carranza’s goal in the 53’ was a statement that said ‘we’ll keep playing our game, this won’t be close.’ And it wasn’t. Philadelphia continues just to be a workhorse team that doesn’t slow down. Down the stretch of the season, this will become massive. Against the NYCFCs and the Torontos and LAFCs of the world, the Union will often just have to outwork their opponents. They’re showing every match that is what they’re capable of.