Last Wednesday night saw Philadelphia Union leapfrog NY Red Bulls to go top of the MLS Eastern Conference. A 2-1 victory over Inter Miami, managed by ex-Everton and Manchester United player Phil Neville, and a win for NYCFC dropped the Red Bulls down to third. A 2-1 follow-up win for The Union on Saturday at home to New England Revolution keeps them top by a point with 13 games remaining.
Head coach Jim Curtin, who spent seven years playing for the Chicago Fire, has been in charge since 2014 and has led the Union to three US Open Cup finals. Last season, the 43-year-olds side finished in second place in the Eastern Conference. Although a respectable league position, they were a very distant 19 points behind conference champions New England Revolution.
This season, they are hoping to go one better in conference play as well as avenge their play-offs semi-final defeat. Having scored 11 goals in their previous three matches, the Pennsylvanians are in a good position to do so.
This analysis will be presented in the form of a scout report. The focus will be on Philadelphia Union’s positional attacks, their use of the long ball and the positioning and movements of their attacking midfielder. In this tactical analysis, we analyse the key tactics behind the Philadelphia Union’s rise to the top of the 2022 MLS Eastern Conference.
Statistical analysis
As the above tactical diagram shows, Curtin usually sets his side up in a 4-4-2 diamond formation. However, in their most recent match, against New England Revolution, which will be covered in this analysis, they used a 4-2-3-1.
Philadelphia have accrued 39 points in their 21 matches this season, overperforming their expected points by 6.6 points. Their expected points tally of 32.4 would place them second in the eastern conference, behind New York City, and third in the combined MLS table.
De
