Bruno Damiani double completes Philadelphia Union comeback

Philadelphia overturn early deficit

Philadelphia Union beat Chicago Fire 3-1 at Soldier Field in Major League Soccer, recovering from a half-time deficit to secure the win. Chicago led 1-0 at the interval, but Philadelphia scored three second-half goals without reply.

Chicago opened the scoring in the 44th minute when Maren Haile-Selassie converted with Noah Allen providing the assist, making it 1-0. The turning point came after half-time: Milan Iloski equalised in the 49th minute, assisted by Bruno Damiani, for 1-1.

Damiani then reversed the contest. He put Philadelphia ahead in the 55th minute after Cavan Sullivan’s assist, making it 1-2, before scoring again in the 67th minute from Jovan Lukic’s assist. That made it 1-3, the final score.

Philadelphia created the clearer chances

The Union finished with 19 shots to Chicago’s 8 and had 8 shots on goal compared with 4. Their expected-goals figure was 2.24, against Chicago’s 0.82. Possession was relatively even, with Philadelphia at 51% and Chicago at 49%, but the shot count showed the visitors’ greater threat after the interval.

Chicago’s task also became more difficult when Jack Elliott, booked in the 41st minute, received a red card in the 45th minute. Philadelphia had no red cards.

Union close the table gap

Chicago went into the game fourth in the Eastern Conference on 48 points, six ahead of Philadelphia. After the result, Chicago remain provisionally fourth on 48 points, while Philadelphia are provisionally sixth on 45 points, reducing the gap to three points. Philadelphia’s standout performer was Damiani, who recorded two goals, one assist and a 9.3 rating.