Player ratings: Union defense lackluster in 3-1 loss in Toronto

The Philadelphia Union rolled into their midweek match with Toronto FC probably expecting to dominate a Toronto team that had lost their last 10 matches in all competitions and had not won an MLS match since May 27. Mind you, this was a Toronto team that would be missing ex-Union forward CJ Sapong, longtime USMNT reserve goalkeeper Sean Johnson and midfielder Latif Blessing (among an extensive list of other players missing out due to injury). 

However, playing their sixth match in the last 23 days with limited rotational options to keep the side fresh, the Union were miserable on the night and fell 3-1 to the Canadian side. Now, it’s time to rate the Union players’ individual performances. This should be interesting.

Andre Blake: B-
Not too much the Union’s star netminder could do on the night considering the poor performance from his backline. He did make a couple of decent saves, including a pair of chances from Toronto’s Fernando Bernardeschi, but overall it was definitely not his best performance. He was maybe a bit out of position on the first goal, leaving an entire right side of his goal open for Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne to finish, but it probably would not have made much of a difference. All in all, it was a league average kind of night from a guy whose performances are normally head and shoulders above the rest of the league, especially when you consider the masterclass he put in against DC United over the weekend. 

Olivier Mbaizo: D+
You may start to see this trend in the backline ratings, but Mbaizo was poor. He gave the Union little to nothing going forward, providing 0 key passes, and he was equally poor defensively, winning just 12.5% of his duels. Point blank: he was not good enough. He also nearly gave up one of the more frustrating goals of the season, when he simply watched a ball come into the area as Toronto left back Raoul Petretta snuck right in front of him to win a header that forced a save out of Andre Blake. The play was kind of a summary of his night. In his defense, I actually thought he did a half decent job in 1 v 1 situations with Toronto winger Lorenzo Insigne, often forcing him either backwards or into another defender in the middle of the field. But in the end, quite poor from a guy in a bit of a position battle with homegrown Nathan Harriel for the right back position down the stretch of the regular season and into the postseason. 

Kai Wagner: B-
A mixed bag for Wagner. On the one hand, he was basically himself on the attack. He provided 5 key passes and created 0.73 expected assists, both of which led both teams. He was whipping dangerous balls into the area from the left flank, and his corner kicks were often finding the head of Jack Elliott and other Union players in the penalty area for what probably should have been goals. He also was decent in duels, winning 50%. However, his positioning and defensive work rate often left a bit to be desired. Sure, some of the work rate could be attributed to a difficult fixture list and poor midfield play in front of him, but it felt like Bernardeschi was getting in behind him at will on the counter in the second half. In the end, it was a solid night offensively, and a bit of a suspect one defensively for the German left back.  

Jack Elliott: D+
Rough one for the British center back. For starters, he probably should have had at least one goal from all of the free headers he had on corners. He came oh so close when he hit the crossbar late in the second half, but those are chances he has shown in the past that he is more than capable of burying. More importantly, though, he won none of his seven duels and (like the rest of the backline) often looked lost defending the Toronto front three of Bernardeschi, Insigne and Deandre Kerr. On the second goal for Toronto, Elliott left Kerr to go try to close down Bernardeschi on the endline when he probably could have just stayed with Kerr – who ended up being the recipient of Bernardeschi’s pass and scoring. I don’t think Elliot quite had the shocker of all shockers, but considering his normally lofty standards, this was a poor night for him. 

Jakob Glesnes: F
Okay, so remember how I said Elliott didn’t quite have the “shocker of all shockers?” Well – that would be because Glesnes took those honors. The reigning MLS Defender of the Year and member of last year’s MLS Best XI was the worst player on the pitch Wednesday night. His defensive mistakes played a role in each one Toronto’s three goals on the evening. On the first goal, albeit Jose Martinez’s back pass/rifled header left A LOT to be desired, Glesnes’s shanked clearance went straight to a Toronto player about 20 yards from goal and then when the ball came into the box, he lost track of Insigne who slotted the ball into the back of the net. Two uncharacteristic mistakes back to back. On the second goal, he was wrongfooted after stepping over to Kerr before he extended the Toronto lead. To be fair to Glesnes, however, he did well to get in position to defend Kerr after Elliott went rogue out to the byline. However, Kerr got the better of him when it mattered. Then, on the third goal, Glesnes let Toronto legend Jonathan Osorio sneak off his back shoulder and find a bit of space to smash home a header from close range. To make matters worse, Glesnes was not his normally smooth self on the ball and even picked up a yellow card after taking too heavy of a touch right into Insigne and subsequently taking down the Italian winger from behind. Just a really, really rough night from the Norwegian center back, and he’ll likely want to just throw out the tape on this one. 

Jose Martinez: C
A mediocre night from El Brujo. While it is obviously not his strong suit as a player, he was fairly poor in possession, often giving the ball away in the final third and middle of the park with little to no pressure. On the defensive end, there seemed to be something off with the midfield’s cohesiveness on the night. And while he was certainly not the only player to blame, he was not necessarily helping either. There were giant gaps between the backline and the midfield, leaving Toronto’s frontline the freedom to pick up the ball between the lines and forge an ungodly amount of counter attacks. As the stalwart defensive-minded leader in the midfield, Martinez does have a responsibility to help sort out those issues, and he did not. However, he seemed to be the only midfielder willing to do the defensive work and individually, he was actually solid defensively, winning the ball in several areas of the pitch. A better night in possession and more assertiveness as the team’s vocal defensive leader in the midfield would have seen El Brujo land a much better grade for his performance. Oh and also if he didn’t pick up another yellow card, resulting in a suspension for the weekend match against NY Red Bulls for yellow card accumulation. But alas, here we are. 

Leon Flach: N/A (Subbed early)
Flach was subbed off in the 33rd minute for what looked to be an aggravation of a previous groin injury. Let’s hope he heals quickly, as his defensive presence and stoutness in the middle was sorely missed on the night. 

Alejandro Bedoya: C-
At this stage in Bedoya’s career, he just cannot be expected to do the defensive work that was necessary tonight. With Flach forced to leave the game early on, Bedoya’s tendency to drift into wide areas and be more of a pocket midfielder hurt the Union. It left El Brujo basically alone on an island to deal with an onslaught of Toronto attacking moves and counter attacks and gave the Union no outlet to release pressure when they were in possession. He did win a few duels and made a pair of key passes (and maybe should be credited for an assist on Carranza’s goal) but this was not a good night from the captain. 

Jack McGlynn: C-
Like Bedoya, McGlynn does not help the defensive shape or cohesiveness of the Union midfield on a night like this. He thrives when the Union are on the ball and dominating their opposition, which mainly happens at home. In a tough away match where gritty defensive work ethic and a bit of dirt beneath your fingernails tends to go a longer way than a softly caressed long distance pass, maybe having another midfield option would have been nice for Jim Curtin. McGlynn did not win any of his 5 duels and was largely ill-suited for the nature of the match. Having started Flach, Curtin probably knew that this would be the case, but the German midfielder’s injury forced his hand. McGlynn did provide a key pass and was accurate in his passing overall, but he mainly showed how important having both him and Flach will be in the backend of the season. They are both good players, but they tend to thrive in different circumstances. Tonight just wasn’t McGlyn’s optimal circumstance. 

Daniel Gazdag: C
The “Hungarian Harden” basically ghosted a la his American basketball counterpart in Games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Like the other attacking-minded players, Gazdag is not a player that will win you matches with his defensive work, as he won just three out of his 12 duels. He is a true number 10 maestro that was lacking his key instrument – the ball. Providing just one key pass, Gazdag never really found himself in dangerous positions to test the injury-riddled Toronto backline. He plays at his best when he can find half spaces and little pockets between the lines where he can link up with forwards Julian Carranza and Mikael Uhre to toy with opposition defenders. But tonight, the Union’s puppet master was out of string. A pedestrian performance from Gazdag. 

Mikael Uhre: C
Uhre, like Gazdag, had trouble imposing his will on a game in which chances were few and far between. Also, completing just 57% of his passes, he was not as sharp as he can be when he did have a chance to get on the ball. However, the saving grace for Uhre was that he was able to create a goal basically out of nothing when he received a throw-in, spun a defender and then floated a trivela cross into the penalty area that Carranza finished to level the match in the dying embers of the first half. In a performance where no one really grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, that moment from Uhre was maybe the closest thing to that. Otherwise, though, a fairly mediocre night for him and he was subbed off just 69 minutes into the match. 

Julian Carranza: C+
You probably get the gist by now. The Union didn’t really have sustained possession or even spontaneous moments of blistering counter attacking like supporters have probably come accustomed to from their potent attacking line. However, of the attacking trio of Carranza, Uhre and Gazdag, Carranza probably had the best game. He was largely tidy when he got on the ball and on a few rare occasions, he showcased his sneaky ability to get in behind the opposition’s backline to create half chances. On the goal, he got into a good area on the back post and put away what was probably one of the easiest finishes of his career. Other than that, Carranza struggled to really muster anything in the attacking third. But with questions about his health prior to the match, it was good to see him log 81 minutes, even if it wasn’t his best performance. 

Jesus Bueno: F
Somehow, in just 20 minutes of action, Bueno managed to get sent off for a nasty kick out on Toronto’s Petretta after losing the ball on the wing. Not entirely sure why he was so angry, but now the Union will be without both of their Venezuelan midfielders on the weekend. 

Donovan, Sullivan, Torres: N/A (Barely in)