The Philadelphia Union can’t be stopped.
The group triumphed 5-1 over current US Open Cup winners Orlando City, as targets from Daniel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre, Alejandro Bedoya, Jack Elliot and Joao Moutinho propelled the Union to guide the Supporters’ Shield standings with 63 factors in 31 matches.
The victory additionally prompted head coach Jim Curtin so as to add Daniel Gazdag’s title to the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP race after the participant boosted his statistics to 19 targets and 9 assists.
“He’s up there and he should be considered,” Curtin mentioned, lobbying for Gazdag. “They’re both amazing and they’ve both had amazing seasons, Mukhtar and him. But I think that’s probably who it’s going to come down to and I think I’ll at least bring that up for my guy.”
Gazdag first joined Philadelphia in 2021 from Hungarian aspect Honved and has since turn into an integral a part of Curtin’s aspect. He managed 4 targets and 5 assists throughout 23 matches throughout his introductory marketing campaign earlier than actually taking off this season.
Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar has had a tremendous 2022 MLS marketing campaign, with 22 targets and 11 assists in 30 video games. But Curtin insists the league should look past statistics to contemplate Gazdag.
“What I’d say about Daniel is the work he does defensively, which does not show up usually in MVP voting, I ask everyone who has a vote to watch just how much this guy does off the ball. The ground that he covers, the way he takes away the other team’s almost two sixes in games,” Curtin mentioned.
“So yes, the goal contributions are record numbers for Daniel and I love seeing him score and I love seeing him get assists, but if you talk around MVP – most valuable player – and doing all the things that game involves, on the defensive side Daniel’s as good as anyone in this league. I think it’s obviously going to come down to [Gazdag] and Mukhtar for the MVP of the league. Andre’s probably sprinkled in there, pushing and still involved as well. But they just don’t like goalkeeping.”
While the race for league MVP continues, so does the battle for the Supporters’ Shield. The Philadelphia Union maintained their lead within the Eastern Conference desk with 63 factors, surpassing favorites LAFC by three factors. But with a one recreation benefit, the Western Conference giants would possibly simply take all of it.
The Union have simply three matches left within the common season earlier than kicking off their playoff marketing campaign in hopes to raise the MLS Cup.