Image courtesy of Philadelphia Union's Twitter Account.
It was a frustrating night for the Union as their first match against Nashville ended in defeat. Former Union forward CJ Sapong scored the crucial goal in the opening moments as a solid Nashville managed to neutralise all Philadelphia threats. An all-around poor performance led to some lower player ratings.
Andre Blake- 7.5 (MOTM)
Blake was the only player that came away from the game with his head held high. He was unfortunate to have conceded so early, but shots across goal can always be tough to save. Blake also made plenty of key saves to keep the score at 1-0, or it could have been a lot worse for the Union.
Olivier Mbaizo- 5.5
It was a rare off night for Mbaizo, who did not look his usual self. He looked lost on the ball at times and was dispossessed on several occasions during the first half. The right-back also seemed cautious when going forward, as he did not put in as many crosses as he usually does. He did well to get ahead of a Nashville player to knock the ball onto the post in the second half before clearing it away, which helped his rating.
Jakob Glesnes- 6
Glesnes had an average night, where he shared blame for the goal with Jack Elliott. As he was running back towards goal, he saw Sapong making the run through the middle and did not attempt to approach the striker until it was too late. Glesnes did have some nice runs forward and made a couple of nice blocks.
Jack Elliott- 6
Elliott also did not see or attend to the Sapong run until it was too late. He did well to originally hold him up but let Sapong go as they both ran towards goal, and the defender got sucked in towards the ball as the former Union striker snuck in between both defenders to fire home. Elliott got beat at a couple of set pieces but also made some nice interceptions.
Kai Wagner- 6
Wagner struggled to make an impact on the game. He did not have much to do defensively and was a non-factor in attack until the end of the game. His set-pieces did not find Union players, but he did not put a foot wrong on the defensive end.
Leon Flach - 6
Another player who had an average night for the Union and Flach was unable to shut down the Nashville counter, which led to the goal, but he did not have much else to do defensively. He retained possession well in the middle of the park.
Alejandro Bedoya- 5
A rare night in which the Philadelphia right-hand side struggled for any consistency. Bedoya had a poor game putting it lightly. He did not offer much in attack and was not careful when in possession. There were too many misplaced passes on the night, and he was very lucky to not give away a penalty. The Union skipper appeared to have handled it inside the area, but VAR did not see anything wrong with it.
Daniel Gazdag- 5.5
An unimpressive first start for Gazdag, who was a passenger at times. He contributed little to the game and struggled to get into the action on that left-hand side with limited touches. He had a good chance to play Cory Burke through on goal but overhit the pass. He could have taken a risk and tried to play a through ball to Kacper Przybylko, who was in a better shooting position.
Jamiro Monteiro- 5
It was just one of those nights for Monteiro where nothing went right. For most of the game, he was neutralised by the Nashville midfield. He had a great chance to help get the Union back in the game with a great counter-attacking opportunity, but his lack of pace saw him tackled. Once again, another reason why the Union need a quick winger to stretch the game. Monteiro was also the downfall of another counter, as his attempt to switch the play dragged the ball too wide, slowing things down and allowing the hosts to deal with it. His night was summed up in stoppage time when his cross into the area went straight into the centre of the box into the hands of the keeper; the Union had three men lining up at the back post.
Cory Burke- 5.5
Burke had little impact on the game as he struggled to find any space in attack. The crosses into the box were limited, and the Union struggled to create much for their two strikers. The one chance he had was a difficult one because Gazdag overhit the through ball to him. It proved to be an easy save for the Nashville keeper as Burke was kept quiet the rest of the evening.
Kacper Przybylko- 5.5
Przybylko was limited in what he could do during the game as the Nashville back three shut him down for large parts of the game. He forced a save out of the host's keeper during the first half, but it was more of a snapshot rather than a golden opportunity. Przybylko was kept quiet in the second half, and the Nashville defenders kept him under wraps when the pressure increased.
Sergio Santos- 6
Santos was introduced ten minutes into the second half, and his energy in attack did help the Union in spells. He had a golden chance to level the score, but his shot went towards the one place the Nashville keeper could save it, and he did. Santos was again limited with his opportunities, but his pace and energy caused some problems.
Jose Martinez- 5
It was not the ideal return to Union action for Martinez as he struggled to get to grips with the game. He lost possession, which led to dangerous counter-attacks on a couple of occasions. Fortunately, he was bailed out by Blake. He also got a yellow card on his return which did not help his rating. Hopefully, Martinez can ease himself back into a rhythm.
Quinn Sullivan- N/A
Sullivan was introduced at a point in the game where it was difficult for him to make an impact. He did not see much of the ball during the final ten minutes making it hard to give him a rating.