The Philadelphia Union is a shell of the team they were last season. Bradley Carnell's men sit in last place in the East after the first 10 games of the 2026 MLS season with just five points and a record of one win, two draws, and seven losses. The team's effort was abysmal in a 2-0 loss to Columbus Crew SC. Here are three takeaways as the Union ends the month of April as the second-worst team in MLS.
There was not much good to take from the Union's latest loss at Columbus on Saturday night. That could have been predicted from the starting XI. Bradley Carnell rotated his team, which was coming off a deflating tie at Toronto, on Wednesday.
Three changes were made after the Union gave up a goalkeeper-goal on the last play of the game vs TFC. Cavan Sullivan came in at left midfield for Indiana Vassilev, Philippe Ndinga played left back for Frankie Westfield, who didn't even make the gameday roster, and Jeremy Rafanello replaced Jovan Lukic in central midfield. These chances were meant to bring in fresh legs, but seemed to severely handicap the Union on the night.
Union Starting XI vs Columbus Crew SC
GK: Blake
LB: Ndinga CB: Makhanya CB: Sery RB: Harriel
DM: Rafanello DM: Bueno
AM: C. Sullivan AM: Jean Jacques
ST: Damiani ST: Iloski
The Union has allowed 17 goals in 10 games, averaging 1.70 goals conceded per game. This is far and away the worst Philly has looked in their defense in years. It comes in a few phases that have been seen all season and were highlighted in this game against Columbus.
Five minutes into the match, Philly was caught in a potential buildup. The team's structure dictates that their defenders and defensive midfielders move up in these situations, but when the Union loses possession, they have almost all of their defenders out of position. In this instance, the Crew dispossessed the Union and played Max Arfsten forward. He was one-on-one with Philippe Ndinga. He cut up the backup left back and was swiftly in the Union's box. He dispatched a shot to give the hosts an early lead.
Just before halftime, Arfsten was at it again down the Union's left side, and he put in a cross that was poorly read by Harriel, who was scrambling towards a center back position as Makhanya was out of position in transition. The ball ricocheted off Harriel, hit the goalkeeper, Blake, bounced back off Harriel, and then into the net. The defensive structure from Philly has been bad throughout 10 games, with no real rock at the back; when you move on from your two best centerbacks (Jack Elliot and Jakob Glesnes) in back-to-back off season's taht will happen. It's very bad right now, but what's worse is that after minute five, it was as if Philly had already lost.
Philadelphia has spent big (for their standards) on strikers over the last two years. The problem is that those strikers are good at holdup play and need service to score goals. When Damiani and Alladoh are on the pitch at the same time, they occupy the same spaces. In attacking midfield, Philly has a lot of players who are grinders, like Vassilev, or playing out of position, like Sullivan and Iloski. There's no one player who puts their foot on the ball and serves in crosses.
This was evident in the match against Columbus, where the Union produced nine shots, just one on target. This was good for an expected goals average of 0.73. When you give up two goals in a game and can't produce two xG, then you will lose more than you win. This has been the case for the Union for most of their 2026 campaign.
The Union made this issue, almost in the same way they made their defensive issues. When you move on from a player like Kai Wagner, there's going to be a drop-off in distribution. That's compounded by Quinn Sullivan still being out after his late-2025 ACL injury. There's not one player who has stepped up as a provider for the Union, and it shows.
The body language around this team has been off all season, and it was evident again in the 2-0 loss to the Crew. Players' heads were hanging after the first mistake, giving up the lead in the first five minutes. Andre Blake has spent more time yelling at his back line than making saves this season, as they're always out of position. Conversations on the field during stoppages can be seen by attackers and midfielders about where to be and how to progress the ball.
It's all been tragic for the reigning Supporters' Shield champs. No doubt, coach Carnell will tell the press they will have more hard conversations as they continue to steady this sinking ship heading into the month of May, but how much more can the players take? Bueno came off the field injured in this loss, and there was a scare for Blake near the end of the match. Sery Larson picked up a second-half stoppage-time red card after grabbing and tackling a Columbus attacker. This team is frustrated and tired.
Will this prompt any changes? The club's ethos is to be the pest that presses opponents into mistakes, which they can capitalize on by scoring. That's not happening through 10 games in 2026; will we finally see a change from Carnell and the club in the formation or style of play? Will the club be forced to make even more radical changes to the coaching staff now that the club is in last place after 10 MLS matches? Only time will tell, but there are only five matches before the more than a month-long World Cup break; can Philly get any better?
