As the MLS regular season winds down, many teams are fighting tooth and nail for a playoff position. As Philadelphia Union and LAFC faced off last weekend, this wasn’t the case. Both teams have had fantastic seasons, booking themselves a place in the postseason with plenty of games in hand.
While both teams have guaranteed postseason football, there is still lots to play for. Philadelphia are looking to climb back into first in the east, earning a goodbye to the conference semifinals, while LAFC still hasn’t mathematically earned the Supporter’s Shield. Bob Bradley’s team still have a shot at breaking the all-time points tally in an MLS regular season which was broken by New York Red Bulls last year. Find out what happened Saturday’s battle of giants in this tactical analysis.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union made limited changes to their lineup after a convincing 3-1 win against Atlanta United at the end of August. You can find the analysis for this game here. With two weeks off, Jim Curtin’s men were ready to get back to business against the league leaders. With Marco Fabián dropped for missing a team meeting before the crucial match, Jamiro Monteiro pushed up into a more central position in the midfield, allowing Alhandro Bedoya to make a return to the team in the midfield. The team maintained their 4-2-3-1 formation for this game.
To read the full tactical analysis of this game – click here
Artwork by @chapulana
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