The Philadelphia Union just posted a historic performance, but a repeat won’t be so easy.
Julian Carranza was a major part of a big offensive effort for the Union, though he can’t be in the lineup for Wednesday night’s game against host Inter Miami.
Carranza, a forward, is the most-recent MLS Player of the Week after his hat trick came in the 7-0 whipping of D.C. United. That was the highest-scoring output for the Union in franchise history in MLS play.
“I think it’s a performance that put a lot of eyes on the team,” Union coach Jim Curtin said.
But based on a clause in Carranza’s loan deal to join the Union, he can’t play against Inter Miami, which is his parent club.
Philadelphia (8-2-9, 33 points) hadn’t scored in two full games prior to the outburst last weekend.
“I was working so hard for this,” Carranza said. “I was working super hard to score goals for this team. We were motivated. We were united as a team. That was the key.”
Curtin said the impact of the dominance against D.C. United is reduced if the Union do not follow with a strong outing in Miami.
Two members of the Union were named to the All-Star roster on Tuesday — goalkeeper Andre Blake and defender Kai Wagner. Inter Miami defender DeAndre Yedlin also was selected to the Aug. 10 game against the Liga MX All-Stars.
Inter Miami and Philadelphia played a 0-0 tie on May 18 in Chester, Pa. Carranza also sat out that game.
Inter Miami (6-8-4, 22 points) will try to regroup after Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Orlando City. The goal came in the second minute of stoppage time
“I told (the players) there’s no time to feel sorry for themselves,” Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said. “No one has to apologize to anyone. Those players gave everything … We’re disappointed, but we move on.”
It’s time for Inter Miami to hit the accelerator. They have won just one game since the calendar turned to June, going 1-2-1 during that stretch.
“We’ve got 18 games to go now where we have to go for it,” Neville said. “We have to score goals. We have to attack. We have to punish teams when we have the chance to punish teams.”
This starts a two-game homestand for Inter Miami, who will play Charlotte FC on Saturday.
–Field Level Media