The Philadelphia Union was riding the high of a 5-0 win midweek in Concacaf Champions Cup over Trinidadian side Defence Force FC as they came to DC United to begin their 2026 MLS season. The match showcased the team that finished first in the league last season, Philly, and the team that finished dead last in MLS, DC. The Union hadn't lost to DC in 11 games across all competitions, but this one proved to be one where the hosts were ready to turn a new page, while the visitors failed to execute their game plan.
The Union came out in their usual 4-2-2-2 formation. Jovan Lukic was still out in central midfield due to a knock and had to make a game-time switch as fullback Frankie Westfield was a late scratch after picking up an injury midweek. Because of this, Philly's lineup looked like this:
GK: Blake
LB: Sundstrom CB: Sery Larson CB: Makhanya RB: Harriel
DM: Bueno DM: Jean Jacques
AM: Iloski AM: Vassilev
ST: Damiani ST: Alladoh
Three players made their first starts: Finn Sundstrom, Japhet Sery Larson, and Ezeikiel Alladoh. The rest of the squad was made up of holdovers from the Supporters' Shield-winning team from last season. All in all, this XI didn't execute the Union's decisive style, playing mainly reactive soccer as DC's injection of new players frustrated Philly's proactive approach.
Throughout the first 10 minutes of the match, it was clear that DC would try to beat Philly at their own game: win the intensity battle and be the more active team in transition. The catalyst for that was former Union striker Tai Baribo, who led DC's line and was a nuisance for Philly's center backs to deal with. Baribo scored what the home crowd thought was the opener, but the buildup play was offside.
The Union tried to force United to commit numbers forward, then hit them on the counterattack, using Iloski and Jean Jacques as the outlets to start attacks. this however, didn't work to their advantage as DC was able to stay compact and limit Philly's quality chances. In the entire game, Philadelphia produced 12 shots, but only three were on target. What was worse was that their expected goals (xG) were 0.54. DC United was able to do better than Philly in that regard craeating three big chances to Philly's one.
One of those three big chances for DC came in the 23rd minute. Philly had numbers forward after a corner kick; Vassilev underhit a cross into DC's box that went right to a DC player, and then a fast break started. Philly scrambled to stop DC as Peglow carried the ball toward the Union's box, drawing Sery Larson and Makhanya toward him. This allowed Baribo to get in behind them, making a looping run, which Peglow found. As he did 19 times for Philly last year, Baribo placed a perfect shot past the outstretched arms of the keeper. Andre Blake couldn't quite get his fingertips to it, and DC was up 1-0 before the half-hour mark.
The last 20 minutes of the first match were back-and-forth, with neither team creating many scoring chances. Philly really struggled to put passes together, and it was clear that DC was targeting young Finn Sundstrom on their right flank. As the teams went to halftime, Philly needed to make some changes to regain momentum.
As the second half kicked off, Carnell went to his bench and brought in another debutant, as Geiner Martinez came on for Finn Sundstrom. It was a center back coming in for another center back to play emergency left back. The change didn't bring much change for a Philly team looking to get back in the swing of things. DC continued to fluster Philadelphia, and after another 10 minutes of poor buildup play from Philly, another new player came on.
Agustin Anello made his Union debut with about 35 minutes left in the match. His goal was to be crafty on the ball in wide areas, finding Alladoh and Damiani in the box to create chances. This idea was cut short just two minutes later, as Alladoh's debut ended in the 59th minute. The new striker received a straight red card for dissent after saying something to a DC player, then to the referee. Philly was down to 10 men with half an hour to go.
DC continued to sit and counter, and Philly turned to their young starlet to come on and try to tie the game. Cavan Sullivan played the last 20 minutes and showed real promise when on the ball, creating space for others to move into and finding passing lanes to create opportunities. Carnell used his final two subs with 11 minutes left in the game as Stas Korzeniowski and Alejandro Bedoya came in to the match. At this point, the game was more of a car crash than a soccer game.
Four yellow cards were issued in the final 10 minutes, two to DC and two to Philly, as the match ended chippy. Sery Larson got his yellow for a strong shove on Baribo as those two were going at it for most of the match. Philly played with the majority of the ball in stoppage time as DC sat back to hold on to their lead. It was clear that a Union team with 10 players would not be able to will their way to a goal, and the match ended 1-0 to the hosts after almost six minutes of added time.
This game seemed to be a disaster from the start. Philadlpehia rely on their outside backs to provide width and service for their forwards. With Frankie Westfield a last-minute scratch, they lost much of what makes them dangerous. Carnell chose to play new centerbacks out of position on the left, and it backfired. So much so that he moved his best center back, Makhanya, out to left back for the last 20 minutes of the game.
Luckily for Carnell and Union fans alike, Jonathan Tannenwald broke news soon after that match that the deal to sign Philippe Ndinga, the left back the Union has been rumored to bring in as their Kai Wagner replacement, had been completed. His addition would be a welcome sight for a team that relies on attacking full-backs and would allow Westfield to move back to right back, where he was stellar last year.
Time will tell if and when Ndinga will join this team and when he gets playing time; however, the team is not going to let an opening-day loss get to them. Carnell mentioned the team being reactive and not proactive, which was the biggest reason the team lost to DC. Chances are the players will respond to that this coming week with two matches again on the docket.
We have seen the team be relentless after a loss with Carnell at the helm, and that's what I'd expect to see this coming week. Philly has two home matches, one on the return leg of their CCC tie against Defence Force, and then the MLS home opener vs the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year, NYCFC. Look for Philly to respond to this first loss with a relentlessness to their play and more open attacking movement.
