Blake, Przybylko headline historic win in Atlanta

It was just three days ago that the Philadelphia Union spent most of the game running all over Inter Miami at home on the way to a massive downer of a 2-1 loss.

Tuesday night, in the house of horrors that Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been, the Union could barely get a foot on the ball in the first half. They were four incredible Andre Blake saves from get- ting run out of the building, desperate to get to halftime scoreless.

Yet by evening’s end, the same team that limped into halftime sprinted off the field triumphant, with a a 3-0 win over Atlanta United in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

Soccer isn’t a fair game. Sometimes that’s an indictment. Other times it’s a celebration.

“It’s a great example of the emotions of this game and what it can bring,” manager Jim Curtin said. “You can be maybe the better team against Miami and come out with a tough loss, but this group of players, they stick together. They have a real identity and I’m really proud of the way they were committed and probably got one of our biggest wins in our club’s history for sure.”

The Union still have work to do in next week’s return leg at Subaru Park Wednesday night. But they have three away goals in the bag, with Atlanta United facing a steep climb. The winner gets the survivor of Portland Timbers against Club America in the semifinals.

Tuesday, the Union had the best player on the field in Blake, who fairly stole a result. They got two clinical finishes from Kacper Przybylko to take his tally to four goals in three CCL games. The German striker also set up the third goal from Anthony Fontana to accumulate the sizeable edge and help the Union prevail in testy fixture that featured multiple players bleeding from their heads and a brief fracas on the sidelines.

Blake was outstanding early. After having to make just eight saves in his first four games – including none in the 4-0 win over Deportivo Saprissa in the second leg of the Round of 16 – Blake made seven saves Tuesday. He stoned Jurgen Damm in the sixth minute after Josef Martinez played him in all alone, Blake rushing off his line to stop the wingback who gave Kai Wagner fits all night. Blake then leapt to get his gloves to an Emerson Hyndman drive from distance that deflected off Jakob Glesnes and changed direction after Blake had left terra firma.

In the 37th, Blake was at full extension to his right to deny a Marcelino Moreno shot, then he charged off his line to make himself big two minutes later as Martinez bore down on him, with Damm’s follow-up sent fortuitously into the side netting.

That chaos wrought a collective exhale at halftime and the introduction of Sergio Santos for an ineffective Cory Burke. Santos in particular was part of the last two goals with his inventive play and defense-stretching speed.

“It’s a bit of a risk-reward for them when they spread it out and open up the field, they do leave their center backs one-v-one,” Curtin said of Santos. “We were able to exploit it, and part of that was Sergio’s pace. He did some really good work for us. His eye is just about swollen shut like a boxer right now.”

The floodgates opened on a set piece in the 57th, with every Atlanta defender gazing at Glesnes’ near-post flick of a corner kick.

That left Przybylko unattended, creeping in at the back post to tap one home.

Przybylko doubled the edge in the 73rd. Santos capitalized on a miscue in the Atlanta midfield and sprang Leon Flach with a clinical touch. On a 2-on-1 with Przybylko, Flach drew the defender and laid off to the German striker, who took one touch to settle it and rifled a vicious shot from the top of the 18 that Brad Guzan could only wave at on its way into nestling in the corner of the net.

“I think you have to be confident all the time on the field,” Przybylko said. “I knew I wanted to hit it into the net and I knew exactly where I wanted to hit it. It went well.”

Przybylko was in a giving mood in the 86th, another oddman rush again sprung by Santos from within his own half. Instead of shooting, Przybylko laid it off for the sub Fontana to casually one-touch home and ice a historic result.

It’s one that isn’t done yet, but one that Curtin is nonetheless enthused about.

“It’s a special win, one that we won’t ever forget about,” he said. “But we’re only at halftime, and we recognize that. … We’re almost there, but we still have a lot of work to do in this competition.”