Philadelphia Union dismantle Cincinnati in dominant display
Philadelphia Union ran out 5-0 winners over Cincinnati in the MLS Regular Season on Wednesday night at Subaru Park. The result sees the hosts move to within a point of their visitors, who dropped to sixth place after twenty-four games.
Obinna Nwobodo was sent off in the sixteenth minute for Cincinnati, and the home side took full advantage. Quinn Sullivan converted a penalty in the forty-third minute before Bruno Damiani struck twice in quick succession just before the interval and early in the second half.
By then, Cincinnati were playing with ten men and could find no foothold. Damiani added a third in the sixty-first minute, and though two of his efforts were later cancelled out by VAR, the scoreline told the true story. Milan Iloski rounded off the scoring with a penalty in the eighty-ninth minute.
Philadelphia were overwhelming in possession, holding sixty-seven per cent of the ball and registering thirty-six shots compared to Cincinnati's one on target. The visitors managed just two key passes all evening and created only one big chance, while the hosts generated five and boasted an expected goals tally of 3.57.
The away side had already lost Evander to a yellow card before Nwobodo's dismissal, and Tah Anunga picked up a booking late on. Cincinnati's goalkeeper made a solitary save, while the home side's keeper was not called upon at all.
Philadelphia's result extends a run of two consecutive wins after a mixed patch of form. Cincinnati, meanwhile, saw their unbeaten streak halted — they had not lost since drawing with Orlando City on August fifteenth.
