Bruno Damiani's Hat Trick Powers Philadelphia Union's Rout of FC Cincinnati in MLS

Bruno Damiani scored a hat trick as Philadelphia Union rolled over FC Cincinnati with a resounding 5-0 at Subaru Park, in a match that swung the home side's way just past the quarter-hour mark. Everything changed in the 15th minute, when Obinna Nwobodo was sent off after a VAR review that first overturned the red card and then, seconds later, confirmed it. Down to ten men so early, Cincinnati never found a way to hold on.

The match was part of the MLS regular season, and Philadelphia Union's numerical advantage fully showed itself right before halftime. In the 39th minute, Evander brought down Quinn Sullivan inside the box for a penalty and picked up a yellow card in the process. Sullivan made no mistake from the spot in the 42nd minute to make it 1-0. There was barely time to breathe before, in the final minute of the first half, Bruno Damiani, set up by Cavan Sullivan on a counterattack, doubled the lead. Philadelphia Union went into the break up 2-0 against an opponent already reduced to ten and overwhelmed.

The knockout blow in the second half

What remained of the match turned into a home showcase. In the 48th minute, right at the start of the second half, Damiani struck again, this time assisted by Quinn Sullivan, for a 3-0 lead. Then in the 60th minute he completed his hat trick with a curling shot into the top corner, once more set up by Cavan Sullivan, making it 4-0. Cincinnati, playing a man down for virtually the entire match, could barely create any danger of its own.

There was more VAR drama in the second half: in the 71st minute a goal by Damiani himself was ruled out, and in the 80th minute a strike by Pavel Bucha for Cincinnati was also disallowed for offside. Neither changed what was already decided. The scoring wrapped up in the 88th minute with another penalty, this one committed by Tah Brian Anunga on Malik Jakupovic, which Milan Iloski converted for the final 5-0.

The numbers confirm the dominance

The stats clearly reflect the gap between the two sides, made worse by Cincinnati's early man disadvantage:

With twenty shots to Cincinnati's lone attempt, it's no surprise the post-match expected goals figure came out to 3.95 for Philadelphia Union against just 0.04 for the visitors, a gap that captures just how one-sided the match became once Cincinnati was down to ten men.

The result also shows just how far the outcome strayed from the pre-match expectations. Before kickoff, our projection gave Philadelphia Union a 47% chance of winning, Cincinnati 29%, and a draw 24%, with expected goals of 2.05 for the home side and 1.59 for the visitors. The final score, a lopsided 5-0, far exceeded what was projected for the home team and left Cincinnati well below its expected output.

What it means in the standings

In the MLS Eastern Conference, both teams entered the match closely bunched: Cincinnati sat seventh with 31 points from 23 matches played (8 wins, 7 draws, 8 losses), and Philadelphia Union sat right behind in eighth with 30 points from 24 matches (8 wins, 6 draws, 10 losses), just a single point back. A rout of this magnitude, with a huge goal differential in the home side's favor on the night, shifts the momentum for the rest of the season for a Philadelphia Union side that needed a result like this to pull away from the bottom of the table.