It was a rematch of the rematch at Subaru Park on Saturday night.
The match that was supposed to be the first meeting between LAFC and the Philadelphia Union since last year’s epic MLS Cup final, and the match that was supposed to let Union fans vent their frustrations at LAFC for defeating their team in such heartbreaking fashion, instead became a rematch of last Spring’s CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinal series, which like the MLS final, was also won by LAFC, though there still had to be some lingering animosity amongst the Union fanbase stemming from both defeats.
However, due mostly to the rain and wind that pounded Chester PA on Saturday night, neither team was able to get anything going on the offensive end, though the Union certainly did its best to delight the home crowd. VAR however had other ideas, as it correctly disallowed a Daniel Gazdag goal early in the second half, and both LAFC and Philadelphia had to settle for the scoreless draw.
The point earned by both sides in the match did carry significance for both teams. LAFC (12-9-9, 45 points) pull into a tie with Seattle for second place in the Western Conference, while Philadelphia (14-8-7, 49 points) pull into a four-way tie for third place in the Eastern Conference, though they currently have the fourth spot, as its 14 wins are one better than Atlanta United and the New England Revolution.
Philadelphia thought they had gone ahead in the 50th minute. Kai Wagner crossed a ball into the penalty area, Mikael Uhre touched the ball down to Tai Baribo, who turned and fired a shot that went off the crossbar, but Gazdag was in the right place at the right time, as he came into the box unmarked and headed in the rebound chance into the back net to give the Union the lead. However, referee Allen Chapman got the call from VAR official Ismir Pekmic to take a second look at the play, and what was discovered was that Uhre was in an offside position when he brought down Wagner’s cross, meaning everything else following the play was negated, thus Gazdag’s goal was waived off.
