Photo Courtesy of Philadelphia Union's Twitter.
Kacper Przybylko was the hero for Philadelphia as his goal in first-half stoppage time ensured a 1-0 win over DC United at Audi Field.
Przybylko did brilliantly to time his run and prod the ball past Jon Kempin in the DC United goal after Jamiro Monteiro's lobbed through ball. Despite the original offside call, VAR stepped in to overturn the decision and award Union the goal.
Jose Martinez returned to the starting XI, having missed the last four games through suspension. New signing Daniel Gazdag was on the substitutes bench for the first time.
DC United was forced into an early substitution as Julian Gressel replaced Edison Flores.
The first chance of the game came in the seventh minute. Leon Flach found himself in acres of space 30 yards from goal and tried his luck, but it sailed wide of the goal.
Flach came close as he dinked a shot over Jon Kempin. However, DC had men on the line and headed the ball back into the hands of Kempin.
Adrien Perez was denied by brilliant defending from Jakob Glesnes moments later. United did well to get forward, and Perez created space for himself. His goal-bound effort looked set to worry Andre Blake, but Glesnes came out of nowhere with a brave sliding block, and the ball went out for a corner.
Blake did well to deny Paul Arriola in the 24th minute. DC won a free-kick on the edge of the area after Martinez committed a foul. Arriola stepped up and drilled a low effort towards the bottom corner, which Blake did well to get down quickly and push away.
Perez had another good chance in the 38th minute. He did well to get past Jack Elliott and tried a left-footed shot from outside the area. However, the effort proved to be an easy save for Blake, who caught the ball.
The Union came so close to scoring before half-time. Olivier Mbaizo's cross found its way to Flach on the left, and he cut it back to Jamiro Monteiro. Monteiro's shot on the stretch looked destined for the back of the net until Brendan Hines-Ike got himself in the way, and the ball ended up in the hands of Kempin.
Kacper Przybylko gave Philadelphia the lead shortly after. Monteiro's chipped ball over the top was an excellent one, and Przybylko got in behind the DC defence, and he did well to poke it past Kempin into the bottom corner. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but after a VAR check, it showed that Przybylko had perfectly timed his run.
HALF-TIME: DC United 0-1 Philadelphia Union
In the 52nd minute, Kempin did well to deny Przybylko. Glesnes' long ball back into the penalty area was met by Alejandro Bedoya, and he played the ball across the box. Przybylko was the man on the end of it to flick the ball towards the goal. Kempin was quickly out and bravely saved the shot. However, Przybylko was offside.
Kevin Paredes was introduced on the hour mark and almost made an immediate impact. A DC corner was headed as far as Paredes, and he curled a shot from 20 yards out. It forced Blake into action as he pushed the ball over the bar.
In the 76th minute, Perez missed a guilt-edged chance. A cross into the Union box saw Perez unmarked, but his header towards goal failed to find the target.
Ola Kamara was the next man to test the Philadelphia goal. A ball across the area found its way to the forward, but as he shot, he was falling over, and his chance proved to be a comfortable save for Blake, who did well to get down to it.
Kamara came inches away from nodding the hosts back onto level terms. A DC corner was headed back across goal, and Kamara managed to get free of his man as he tried to attack the ball. However, his attempts to flick the ball on were unsuccessful as he failed to make the needed contact.
FULL-TIME: DC United 0-1 Philadelphia Union
DC United: Kempin, Hines-Ike, Alfaro Vazquez (Pines 78'), Najar, Canouse, Arriola, Mora (Paredes 60'), Nyeman (Kamara 46'), Skundrich (Felipe 79'), Perez, Flores (Gressel 4')
Unused Substitutes: Seitz, Moreno, Asad, Brilliant
Philadelphia Union: Blake, Mbaizo, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner, Martinez (Gazdag 67'), Bedoya, Flach, Monteiro (Real 85'), Przybylko, Burke (Santos 67')
Unused Substitutes: Freese, Findlay, McGlynn, Fontana, Sullivan, Collin