Led by a penalty kick finish from Bruno Damiani and tremendous defense, Philadelphia Union extended its unbeaten streak to 13 games with a 1-0 win at Chicago Fire FC on Wednesday night.
The Boys in Blue earned the game’s only goal of the night after a handball offense was called against the Fire’s Andrew Gutman with the referee quickly pointing to the spot after the defender blocked a Chris Donovan cross. Forward Bruno Damiani left the keeper frozen to his mark on the shot that proved to be the game’s only goal as the Boys in Blue smothered the Chicago offense to just two shots on goal.
With the win, Philadelphia Union are unbeaten in a club record 11 league matches and 13 games across all competitive dating back to April 19th.
The Boys in Blue continue their road trip with a Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire showdown against the Columbus Crew. Kick off from Ohio is set for 6PM ET with coverage on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
How The Match Unfolded
With nine players unavailable for selection, Head Coach Bradley Carnell called on depth for Wednesday's match in Chicago, sending out a never-before-seen lineup.
Andrew Rick started in net, protected by a backline featuring newly-announced 2025 MLS All-Star Jakob Glesnes and Olwethu Makhanya paired at centerback, Kai Wagner on the left, and Alejandro Bedoya dropping to right back in the absence of typical Frankie Westfield, Nathan Harriel, and Olivier Mbaizo.
In the midfield, Jeremy Rafanello made his first start of the year, lining up with Jovan Lukic, Ben Bender, and Indiana Vassilev, while Bruno Damiani and Chris Donovan started up top.
The bench featured a cast of up-and-coming homegrowns including Neil Pierre, CJ Olney, Nick Pariano, and Eddy Davis II, who sat alongside Oliver Semmle at backup keeper, and last match's goalscorers Markus Anderson and Jesus Bueno.
11', Damiani opens scoring! | Chicago Fire committed a handball in the 11th minute, giving Philadelphia Union a shot from the spot. With both Quinn Sullivan and Tai Baribo missing from the matchday roster, Bruno Damiani stepped up, converting his shot to the bottom left corner to make it 1-0.
n31', Close chance for Chicago | Team goal-scoring leader Hugo Cuypers nearly equalized in the 31st minute, but his shot when just shy of the left post, leaving the match level.
35', Lukic shown a yellow | A yellow card caution was shown to Jovan Lukic, giving Chicago a free kick in scoring territory, but Glesnes stepped up and headed the ball away from the box,
39', Another close call | Phillip Zinckernagel, another player named to the 2025 MLS All-Star team, took a powerful shot that grazed the cross bar to go over, just above Rick's gloves.
43', Vassilev attempt | Philly nearly doubled its lead right before the break with a second effort ball nearly turning into a goal. After a half clearance from Chicago, Wagner served in a second ball from the corner that saw a pair of headed efforts before the ball drifted out to the top of the box. Indy Vassilev didn’t hesitate on taking the shot, hitting a blast that forced a save.
50', Yellow card | Glesnes was shown a costly yellow card five minutes into the second half. With the caution, he's ineligible for Sunday night's match against Columbus Crew on the road.
70', Union insert fresh legs | 20 minutes into the second half, Carnell made his first change, sending in Jesus Bueno, who had scored in the team's most recent 2-1 win against Charlotte FC, to replace Ben Bender. A few minutes later another change came for the Boys in Blue as late-game winner Markus Anderson entered in place of Chris Donovan atop the Union lineup.
78', Big defensive stand | Chicago continued to push for an equalizer with a dangerous chance coming with nearly 10 minutes left. Philly was up to the task however with Philip Zinckernagel's shot being blocked by Glesnes and the rebound attempt by Maren Haile-Selassie denied by Bedoya.
88', Davis III makes his MLS debut | With just a few minutes left in the road match, Head Coach Bradley Carnell's final change was a special one as homegrown Eddy Davis III make his MLS debut coming on in place of the goalscoring Damiani.
93', Glesnes goal line clearance | The Fire's final attempt of the match game off a set piece chance with MLS All-Star Jakob Glesnes positioning himself perfectly to deny a shot from Brian Gutiérrez that snuck past Rick but was cleared away by the Norwegian.
