Julian Carranza scored a hat-trick as the Philadelphia Union thrashed DC United 6-0 at Audi Field.
Mikael Uhre gave the Union the lead before Daniel Gazdag made it two from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time. Carranza scored his first shortly after half-time as his curling effort from the edge of the box was the pick of the goals.
Carranza scored a quick-fire double in the 70th and 74th minute to make it five for Philadelphia, and Cory Burke got in on the act to make it six with a little over ten minutes remaining.
Jim Curtin made three changes following the midweek defeat to FC Dallas as Olivier Mbaizo, Jack McGlynn and Mikael Uhre started in place of Nathan Harriel, Leon Flach and Cory Burke.
Wayne Rooney was forced into one change after the 1-0 defeat to LAFC as Steve Birnbaum was suspended following a red card in the game. Rafael Romo, Chris Durkin and Miguel Berry came into the starting XI after being on the bench against LAFC.
There was a VAR check in the opening moments of the game for a handball against the Union. A DC goalward effort hit the hand of Jack Elliott before the ball eventually went out for a goal kick. VAR took some time to see whether it was a penalty for the hosts but believed it was something Elliott could not avoid.
Ravel Morrison had a great opportunity to give the hosts the lead after good work from Miguel Berry to create the chance. He played the ball to Morrison, which allowed him to burst into the penalty area. He got his shot away, but the oncoming Andre Blake did well to make himself big and made a big save.
Taxiarchis Fountas came close moments later as his effort hit the post. The Union could not clear a cross into the box, and the ball fell kindly to Fountas. He shot from 20 yards and left Blake rooted to his spot but hit the outside of the post.
In the 28th minute, Julian Carranza was denied by Romo. Uhre's smart pass allowed the Argentinian to get into the box with space. Carranza managed to get a shot away but was denied by the oncoming Romo.
Blake was called into action again in the 33rd minute as he showed off his quick reactions. A cross towards the six-yard box was missed by Berry, but it forced the Jamaican goalkeeper to react late. He did well to get down quickly and palm the ball out for a corner with the cross looking like it could find the back of the net.
Carranza had another good opportunity as Uhre's smart flick went straight to the feet of the Argentinian. His turn allowed him to create some separation from the DC defender, but he fired wide of the target.
In the 37th minute, Uhre put the Union in front. He and Carranza linked up again as the Argentinian's cross hit the chest of Uhre. He did well to bring the ball under his control getting into space and drilling his low-driven shot across the goal and into the bottom corner giving Romo no chance of making the save.
In first-half stoppage time, Uhre was brought down inside the penalty area by Tony Alfaro. He kicked the leg of the Danish forward while making an attempt to win the ball but could not get near it. After initially waving the appeals away, VAR made the referee go back to look at it and awarded the spot kick.
Daniel Gazdag was the man that stepped up to take the kick as he sent Romo the wrong way as he slotted his penalty towards the bottom right corner.
HALF-TIME: DC United 0-2 Philadelphia Union
Carranza made it three for Philadelphia just a couple of minutes into the second half. He, Uhre and Gazdag all linked up to get the ball towards the DC penalty area. Gazdag was the one who passed it to Carranza on the edge of the box. The Argentinian cut in on his left foot before curling a stunning effort beyond Romo and into the back of the net.
Fountas came close to giving DC United a lifeline just after the hour as they applied some pressure on the Union penalty area. The ball eventually fell to Fountas at a tight angle and tried to shoot across the goal on the half volley. However, the shot was close to Blake as he managed to push it behind for a corner, which came to nothing.
Carranza had his second and the Union's fourth in the 70th minute. The goal came following excellent work from Cory Burke to win possession deep inside the DC half before he broke into their penalty area. He was unlucky not to score himself as the ball fell to him inside the box, and his effort came off the post. The rebound went straight to Carranza, who did well to get it out of his feet before drilling it through the legs of Romo at his near post.
Carranza completed his hat-trick three minutes later as he capitalised on poor play at the back from DC United. The hosts tried to pass out of the back, and the Argentinian won the ball off the defender. He rounded Romo before slotting into an empty net to make it five for Philadelphia.
Burke found his goal in the 79th minute after doing well to keep himself onside and to get on the end of McGlynn's through ball. He hit his shot first time from the edge of the box, and it had plenty of power on it as he curled past Romo at his near post.
Kirmani Smith had an opportunity to find a consolation for the hosts. A low ball across the six-yard box was only pushed away as far as Smith. He struck the ball first time at the back post but completely missed the target from a tough angle.
Paxten Aaronson came close to making it seven in the final stages of the game. He managed to send a cross into the box goalward, and Romo did well to get down and palm it away. Aaronson tried to slot the rebound into the back of the net, but the oncoming Romo did well to bravely block the effort.
FULL-TIME: DC United 0-6 Philadelphia Union
DC United: Romo, Najar, Palsson, Alfaro, Guediri (Smith 69'), Hopkins (Ku-DiPietro 69'), Durkin, Morrison (Djeffal 69'), Fountas, Berry, Rodriguez (Kamara 68')
Unused Substitutes: Ochoa, Odoi-Atsem, Canouse, Skundrich, Pines
Philadelphia Union: Blake, Mbaizo (Harriel 85'), Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner, Martinez, Bedoya (Flach 77'), McGlynn, Gazdag (Aaronson 76'), Carranza (Sullivan 85'), Uhre (Burke 65')
Unused Substitutes: Freese, Real, Craig, Donovan
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