LAFC, Philadelphia set for early-season showdown

Past the quarter pole of the Major League Soccer season, it’s no surprise that the Los Angeles Football Club and Philadelphia Union have set the pace in their respective conferences.

Since joining MLS in 2018, LAFC has dominated during the regular season with the most points (228), the most goals (274, 40 more than second-best New York City) and the most wins (65), including a romp to the Supporters’ Shield in 2019.

Over the same four-plus seasons, Philadelphia is second in points (224) and second in wins (64), alongside NYCFC and Seattle. And in 2020, Union supporters were shipped the Supporters’ Shield by The 3252 after Philadelphia captured it for the first time.

Four points behind LAFC (7-1-1, 22 points) heading into Week 10, the lone regular-season MLS meeting of the year versus the Union (5-1-3, 18 points) comes Saturday night at Banc of California Stadium.

In the context of the Supporters’ Shield, this clash brings the energy of a sixpoint match generally reserved for conference foes, though LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo was quick to knock down that idea.

“I don’t think that would be smart for us to make a big deal out of that,” he cautioned. “This is the 10th game of the 34-game season, so I don’t want to overemphasize anything. This is just one moment in the season when both teams happen to be top of the table.”

After nine games under Cherundolo, LAFC has equaled its best start (2019). Unbeaten in front of its supporters this year, LAFC (417-19, 142 points all-time at Banc of California Stadium) has a 4-1 win and a wild 3-3 draw in its previous home matches against the Union.

The tie preceding the suspension of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 is a match that Philadelphia head coach Jim Curtin remembers fondly as the start of his club’s run to the Supporters’ Shield.

Pushing a high-pressing style that produces the most intensity in the league, LAFC midfielder Ilie Sanchez said Curtin’s teams “have a special way of playing. They play very centrally. They don’t hesitate when they recover the ball to play forward and that’s their way to create chances. They have also a high accuracy on chances and scoring goals, so we have to be very alert when they recover the ball because they are very dangerous.”

Aided by a league-low six goals against this season, including four clean sheets from top goalkeeper Andre Blake, the visitors have held the top spot in the Eastern Conference for seven consecutive weeks.

If Philadelphia denies LAFC a goal today, it would be the first time in 30 league matches that the club was ever shut out at home.

LAFC has scored 21 times and only conceded two more goals than Philadelphia, ranking one spot behind the Union as the only teams allowing fewer than one expected goal against per 90 minutes.

“They’re organized and they are great in transitions,” Curtin said. “What is even more impressive is if you look at the data, they are the best team in the league in offensive transitions but also defensive transitions so we will have our work cut out for us to get a result on the road.

“They’re a first-place team for a reason. But so are we. It’s going to be a great game.”