Revolution continue to drop as they fall to 3rd in Eastern Conference following 3-0 loss versus Philadelphia Union

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FOXBOROUGH, MA– The New England Revolution (7-3-3, 23 pts.) were defeated in a 3-0 match versus the Philadelphia Union (6-3-4, 21 pts.) in an MLS Match on Saturday, May 20th.

The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Subaru Park in Chester, PA to a crowd of roughly 19,079.

The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with Đorđe Petrović starting in net with a backline of (left back) DeJuan Jones, (center backs) Dave Romney, and Andrew Farrell, along with (right back) Brandon Bye. The defensive midfield consisted of Latif Blessing (left midfield), Matt Polster (right midfield). Captain Carles Gil played ahead of them in the central role. (center attacking midfield) The attacking roles were manned by Emmanuel Boateng (left attacking wing), Noel Buck (right winger), and Bobby Wood as the lone striker.

Unchanged XI from last weeks 2-1 loss versus CF Inter Miami.

Designated Player Gustavo Bou remains out with an injury, and Designated Player Giacomo Vrioni continues to start on the bench.

The Revolution enter today’s match with 3 road wins this season. The most in the Eastern Conference, and T-most in all of MLS.

The match began with New England starting from the center circle. Midfielder Matt Polster played the ball backward to Dave Romney, who sent it up the right side of the field.

In the 4th minute, Revolution midfielder Latif Blessing entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for a harsh foul on #8 José Martínez.

The first moment of the match came for the Philadelphia Union in the 8th minute when #9 Julián Carranza lined up a long distance shot that was deflected off of defender Dave Romney. The deflection went towards the Revolution goal and was saved out for a corner kick by goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović.

Not even 3 minutes later, Philadelphia Union midfielder #31 Leon Flach tried a long-range effort that was deflected once more, this time by defender Andrew Farrell. The deflection found #10 Dániel Gazdag whose awkward right-footed volley was awkwardly saved by Petrović. Defender DeJuan Jones managed to clear the ball out moments later.

The first moment of the match for New England came in the 17th minute when midfielder Emmanuel Boateng got around defender #5 Jakob Glesnes. His cross into the area found forward Bobby Wood in space, but his effort went wide of the right post.

Entering the 26th minute, Philadelphia continued to knock on the door as a lofted cross by #8 José Martínez found #9 Julián Carranza, but his effort was ultimately saved by a diving Petrović at close range.

9 minutes later, disaster struck for the Revolution.

Captain midfielder Carles Gil went down an picked up a right leg injury. He was not fit to continue, so in the 35th minute, Head Coach Bruce Arena made his first substitution of the match by replacing injured midfielder Carles Gil for midfielder Jack Panayotou.

Following Gil’s substitution, there was little-to-no action, and the match entered halftime with the scoreline tied at 0-0.

The second half kicked off with Philadelphia Union starting at the center circle. #10 Dániel Gazdag played it backwards to center back #3 Jack Elliot who launched the ball into the right side of the Revolution defensive third.

In the 55th minute, Philadelphia broke the 0-0 deadlock.

Following a long ball pass by #10 Dániel Gazdag, #7 Mikael Uhre entered a foot race with defender Andrew Farrell. The Revolution defender won the footrace and attempted to simulate contact from Uhre. The Philadelphia Union forward then quickly took the throw in and found #10 Dániel Gazdag wide open entering the Revolution penalty area. His right-footed strike hit the right post and went directly past Revolution goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović.

Four minutes later, New England had a chance of their own as midfielder Emmanuel Boateng got by #5 Jakob Glesnes. His ball into the area was saved point blank by Philadelphia Union goalkeeper #1 Andre Blake. The rebound was spilled into the area and was won by Latif Blessing. His square pass across the area found Brandon Bye, who sent it high into the stands.

In the 66th minute, Head Coach Bruce Arena made his second and third substitutions of the match by replacing Bobby Wood and Latif Blessing for forwards Justin Rennicks and Giacomo Vrioni.

Following the substitutions, the ensuing corner kick was sent in and the header was won by Dave Romney, whose effort went over the bar.

In the 71st minute, the Revolution gave up a penalty kick.

Following a long ball by #5 Jakob Glesnes, the ball found #7 Mikael Uhre. He took 2 touches before being fouled by defender Andrew Farrell in the box, and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot.

Following the call, Revolution midfielder Carles Gil entered the referee’s booklet on the bench with a yellow card for a criticizing the fourth official.

#10 Dániel Gazdag stepped up to take the kick and sent it directly into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal past Đorđe Petrović for the 2-0 lead.

In the 78th minute, Head Coach Bruce Arena made his fourth and fifth substitutions of the match by replacing Emmanuel Boateng and Matt Polster for forwards Esmir Bajraktarević and Jozy Altidore. With this substitution, forward Jozy Altidore has officially made his 200th career MLS appearance.

In the 87th minute, the Union added to their advantage.

Following a throw in by defender DeJuan Jones, defender Dave Romney’s attempt at a left-footed service was blocked by #25 Chris Donovan. His block sent the ball directly to the center circle to find #9 Julián Carranza. With their attack, it was a 3 on 1 against defender Andrew Farrell. After Carranza played the ball back to Donovan, he played a low-driven ball to the back post which had gone through the legs of Andrew Farrell, to find #9 Julián Carranza all alone to tap it past Đorđe Petrović.

Following the goal and the 4 additional minutes, the match ended 3-0.

With the loss, the Revolution drop 3 matches in a row for the first time since September of 2022. The team currently sits in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference, behind FC Cincinnati (30 pts.) and Nashville SC (25 pts.).

In regard to Carles Gil’s injury status, Bruce Arena stated, “we’ll know more about Carles’ injury when he gets an MRI”.

The New England Revolution (7-3-3, 23 pts.) return to Foxborough, MA to face the Chicago Fire (3-6-4, 15 pts.) in an MLS Match on Saturday, May 27th. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.

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21-Year-Old Journalist covering the New England Revolution & MLS NCAA Division III College Soccer Player for Suffolk University

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