D.C. United travels to Philadelphia on Sunday night for a regular-season meeting against the Union that feels like a playoff match.
Next to each other in the MLS Eastern Conference standings, while straddling the playoff line, a win for United would continue an incredible comeback in a season that looked like it had slipped away.
D.C. United (8-12-9, 33 points) had an 11-match winless streak from May to the beginning of July, with eight losses and three draws. Since then, wins in four of the last six regular season matches have D.C. tied on points with Philadelphia for the final playoff spot, although the Union hold the tiebreaker that puts D.C. in 10th place and currently out of the playoffs.
Helping the comeback has been Christian Benteke, whose 19 goals lead MLS and have fueled D.C. United since returning from the Leagues Cup break. In four matches, Benteke has three goals and two assists, including a 67th-minute score from the penalty spot against New York City FC on Saturday, a 1-1 draw. The club is on a three-game unbeaten streak.
“The first 20 minutes last week, we were under it,” D.C. United defender Aaron Herrera said. “I don’t think we were able to make adjustments quick enough and so going into Philly, everyone knows it’s a really tough place to play, even though they haven’t been great at home this year. You saw what they’re capable of last game, so we’ve got to go there and be ready from the jump.”
Philadelphia (8-12-9, 33 points) is on a roller coaster of late, going 2-2-0 since it was eliminated from Leagues Cup play. The two wins were by multiple goals. The Union lost 3-1 to Inter Miami last Saturday but followed with a 5-1 win over NYCFC on Wednesday.
Against NYCFC, five different players scored for Philadelphia, including Mikael Uhre who has three goals and an assist in the last three matches. Uhre is part of a front three that’s crucial for the success of Philadelphia, who hold on to their playoff destiny.
“We go as our front three goes,” said Union head coach Jim Curtin, whose team is 3-7-4 at home. “When those three are together and pressing and are close to each other when we have the ball, close to each other when we defend, it’s no coincidence the goals start to go in.”
–Field Level Media
