Philadelphia Union bully past Queretaro 5-1 to advance in Leagues Cup

The Philadelphia Union are officially onto the knockout rounds of the 2023 Leagues Cup. A 5-1 defeat of Liga MX side Queretaro at Subaru Park clinched first place in Group L.

The visitors had a clear strategy early in the match to try and grind out a scoreless draw, maybe eek out a win on a counterattack goal. They forced the Union to try and break them down, giving them a lion’s share of possession. To start out, the game was sloppy by both sides, featuring more fouls than legitimate chances. Two cards were doled out within the first 20 minutes, one to each side with Mikael Uhre entering the book.

Daniel Gazdag opened up the scoring in the 30th minute for the Union. The Hungarian international actually scored a goal from regular play, blasting a strike from well outside the box past the Queretaro goalkeeper. It was an extremely ambitious strike, and one that probably should have been kept out of the net. For a player who had a goal taken away due to an offside earlier in the match, Gazdag will surely take it.

Gazdag added his name to the scoresheet again in the 39th minute. The midfielder played in a beautiful pass to Julian Carranza. The Argentine beat the goalkeeper with a great touch and was fouled in the process. The Union’s ace from the spot Gazdag calmly put his side up 2-0. Philadelphia would add a third in the 43rd minute off of a corner. Jesus Bueno took the corner instead of the usual Kai Wagner and found an airborne Nathan Harriel in the box to head it past the keeper.

Bueno had another strong game, earning a penalty in the 63rd minute. Of course, Daniel Gazdag was the one to take it, and he doesn’t miss from the spot. He goes down in the record books as the first player to record a hat-trick in the Leagues Cup. Gazdag has four goals in two games in the competition.

The opposition did one goal back in the 84th minute. Seemingly out of nowhere, a turnover in the box lead to a clear chance for Queretaro. Jonathan Torres found a wide-open Raul Sandoval for a tap in goal. Philadelphia would have the last word though, with Jack McGlynn adding a fifth goal to the tally. It was a good strike from outside the box from McGlynn, but as commentator Danny Higginbotham said, it was a poor effort by the opposing keeper. Not a great night for Alejandro Arana and Gallos Blancos, but a great result for Philadelphia. They will host the East Group 2 runner-up on Thursday night.