Thursday, October 1, 2026
79 ° Clear
79 ° Clear
After coming out of the World Cup break with 3 straight wins, the Philadelphia Union lost their first match under Interim Head Coach Ryan Richter. The team suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Liga MX’s reigning champions, Cruz Azul in the club’s opening game of the 2026 Leagues Cup at Subaru Park on Thursday night.
La Máquina got on the board early in Chester thanks to José Paradela who found the back of the net in just the 3rd minute of the match to quiet an already thin Union crowd. Paradela, who had sent the ball out to the left flank for Omar Campos, received a pass back from Campos at the top of the penalty area and put his left foot through the ball with his first touch. The shot from Paradela beat the outstretched gloves of Andrew Rick, making his first start for the Union following the World Cup break, giving Cruz Azul a 1-0 lead on the road.
In the 13th minute Cruz Azul’s Omar Campos thought he had doubled La Máquina’s lead in Chester after a failed clearance from Frankie Westfield allowed him to tap the ball into the back of an open net, but the goal was eventually waved off as Gabriel Fernández, who fed the pass through the box for Campos to put away, was deemed to be offside in the buildup to the goal and the game would remain 1-0.
Ryan Richter’s side came out of the locker room in the second half looking for the equalizing goal and managed to create multiple solid opportunities in front of net.
In the 58th minute, Milan Iloski received a pass from Kai Wagner as he was running towards the edge of the box and back-heeled a pass into the path of Cavan Sullivan who was entering into the penalty area, but Sullivan’s attempt on net was right at Cruz Azul keeper Kevin Mier who made a comfortable save.
Seconds later, Milan Iloski provided Cavan Sullivan with another chance to pull Union level inside the penalty area, but Sullivan pulled the left-footed attempt wide of the post to Mier’s left, keeping Cruz Azul on top with a 1 goal advantage.
"I want to take responsibility. I think I had two that I missed. I'm not happy about them. They need to be put to bed. I apologize to the team and the fans. In Leagues Cup, every chance matters." - Cavan Sullivan on his missed chances in the 2nd half against Cruz Azul
Less than a minute later, Ezekiel Alladoh, who scored the match winner and his first goal as a member of the Union with a stoppage time stunner against Atlanta on the weekend, had an opportunity to play hero for the Blue and Gold again after receiving a through ball from Cavan Sullivan, but his attempt on net was blocked and the rebound was booted to safety before Quinn Sullivan could pounce and put the ball into an unattended net. 3 chances for the Union in less than 2 minutes and nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
“They’re a good team and they had the momentum for the first 20 minutes of the first half and I think we settled in OK, but probably didn't create enough chances…really proud of the 2nd half, we got in really dangerous positions and I thought we controlled the 2nd half and tonight the energy reminded me of the energy from the other night the way the guys were attacking and the goal just didn't come and that’s okay, we keep fighting. The next game, we don’t change the energy piece, but we change the way that we end some of these plays.” - Ryan Richter on Union’s 2nd half performance against Cruz Azul
Perhaps Union’s best chance at finding an equalizer in this game 89th minute when Milan Iloski ran onto a ball in the penalty area and tried to back-heel a pass back into the middle of the box, but his attempt was impeded by what appeared to be an outstretched hand of Cruz Azul defender Gonzalo Piovi.
Piovi’s arm was down at his side, but looked to move his arm away from his body before his hand made direct contact with the ball, stopping a promising attack for the Union inside the penalty area. Referee Juan Gabriel Calderón Perez did not call a penalty on the field, and the play was never sent to VAR to check what appeared to be a clear and obvious penalty against Cruz Azul in a pivotal moment of the match.
The play would continue, Union would have to settle with a corner instead of an opportunity to equalize from the penalty spot, and the game would end in a 1-0 loss for the Blue and Gold at home in a competition where losing the first match often means bad news for your chances of pushing for the trophy.
Ryan Richter was asked about the non-call after the game and whether he thought his team should have been awarded a penalty, and his response was as clear as it can get; “Yes...I didn’t speak with the ref about it, but I think it was a penalty. It’s disappointing, they said they were checking it so it’s disappointing. I think it would have been a fair decision.”
The Union, who suffered their first loss under interim Head Coach Ryan Richter on Thursday night, will have to move on and turn the page quickly as Necaxa and former Union striker Julian Carranza come to Subaru Park on Sunday night looking to put an end to the Blue and Gold’s Leagues Cup campaign early.
