Philadelphia Union survive late scare, hold off Real Salt Lake 2-1

Philadelphia Union built a two-goal lead and then weathered a nerve-wracking finish to hold on for a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake at Subaru Park, in an MLS clash that was all but decided in stoppage time, when a visiting goal in the 95th minute made the final score look closer than the match had felt for most of the night.

The home side broke the deadlock in the 30th minute when Bruno Damiani finished with his right foot from the center of the box, set up by Frankie Westfield, to make it 1-0. Before that goal, the match had been fairly even, with Stijn Spierings and Dominik Marczuk testing the Union defense for Real Salt Lake without beating the goalkeeper, while Frankie Westfield and Damiani himself had chances of their own that didn't find the net.

In the second half, Philadelphia Union kept creating danger through Cavan Sullivan, Milan Iloski and Damiani, while Real Salt Lake answered through Saba Lobjanidze and Sergi Solans, who got more involved after Pablo Mastroeni's substitutions. The second goal didn't arrive until the 80th minute, and it needed a review: Milan Iloski struck with his right foot from close range to make it 2-0, assisted by Cavan Sullivan, in a goal that went to VAR before being confirmed in the 81st minute.

With the match seemingly put away, Real Salt Lake found a crack in stoppage time. In the 95th minute, off a corner kick, Saba Lobjanidze fired home with his right foot from the center of the box to make it 2-1, assisted by Luc De Fougerolles. There was no time left for anything more.

By the numbers

The Union had the edge in possession and chances created, though the gap wasn't overwhelming. The table below breaks down the key stats:

As for xG generated during the match, an in-house estimate based on shot locations, Philadelphia Union produced 1.871 compared to Real Salt Lake's 0.679, a gap that backs up the offensive dominance that ultimately showed up on the scoreboard, even if the visitors managed to cut the deficit at the end.

Our preview published ahead of the match gave Philadelphia Union a 58% chance of winning, against 19% for Real Salt Lake and 23% for a draw, with expected goals of 2.08 for the home side and 1.12 for the visitors. The final result, 2-1, ended up lining up fairly well with that projection: the Union won as expected, though Lobjanidze's stoppage-time goal gave Real Salt Lake a dramatic finish that the forecast didn't necessarily anticipate showing up on the final scoreline.

What the result means in the standings

In the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia Union came into this match in sixth place with 42 points from 28 games played (12 wins, 6 draws, 10 losses), while Real Salt Lake does not appear among the teams ranked in this table. The win lets the Union collect another three points in a standings where Nashville SC leads with 63 points and where the fight for the top spots remains tight among Inter Miami CF, Chicago Fire FC, New England Revolution and Charlotte FC.

The match also produced yellow cards for Danley Jean Jacques, DeAndre Yedlin, Frankie Westfield, Dominik Marczuk, Jesus Bueno and Bruno Damiani, in a game that saw 21 fouls from the home side and 13 from the visitors. For Philadelphia Union, coached by Ryan Richter, the win comes with a bitter aftertaste after watching Pablo Mastroeni's side cut into the lead just as the match was winding down.