MONTREAL — On Saturday afternoon, still searching for their first points of the 2026 Major League Soccer regular season, the Philadelphia Union traveled to Stade Saputo in Montreal, hoping to reverse course on the season.
After a slow start that saw the Union once again trailing at halftime, two second-half goals from Japhet Sery-Larsen and Jesus Bueno propelled the Union to three points in a very physical and, at times, chaotic 90-minute match.
“I think today was a performance of a team, and I’m really happy for them, in a tough moment as a club, as players and coaches and staff and everyone,” said Philadelphia Union head coach Bradley Carnell following the match. “But it just shows what it means now, just going down to the locker room and just seeing the joy and the relief on the faces. And I know it’s only three points, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
The starting eleven for Philadelphia in Saturday’s match had a few changes from last weekend’s match in Charlotte. Danley Jean Jacques, who was listed as questionable ahead of the contest, was unable to go and was filled in by Jesús Bueno. Ezekiel Alladoh started on the bench, while Ben Bender received the start in the midfield, with Milan Iloski moving up to the forward spot alongside Bruno Damiani.
While the Union looked strong as the match kicked off, the Canadian side soon found its momentum building and forced Philadelphia onto its heels for most of the first half.
Montreal almost had a chance to break the scoring open following a turnover in the defensive end by Philadelphia, which sprung the opposition on the break and forced Andre Blake into a race for the ball with Montreal midfielder Iván Jaime. While Blake seemed to win the race, knocking the ball out and taking Jaime down, referee Alexis Da Silva felt that it was a foul and pointed to the penalty spot. VAR suggested Da Silva take a second look, and after an extensive review, the foul was called off as Philadelphia skirted early danger.
But while the Union were able to catch an early break on the call, they were not able to keep Montreal out of the net. An Efraín Morales long ball over the top caught the Philadelphia defense unable to track back in time, allowing Jaime to beat Olwethu Makhanya and get in on goal, which he was able to finish, putting the home side up 1-0 in the 23rd minute.
And while VAR would have another lengthy check, Jaime’s goal would stand and continue the Union’s streak of seven matches conceding the first goal, putting them on their heels yet again.
Philadelphia would have to wait until the 42nd minute for their first shot on target, as Iloski’s free kick attempt was fired right at Montreal goalkeeper Thomas Gillier. Frankie Westfield would have another good opportunity just moments later, as his shot went just wide past Gillier and rolled out of play.
With eight minutes of stoppage time, Bueno gave the Union their best chance as he fired a shot on target, forcing Gillier to make a fantastic lunging save to keep Philadelphia out of the net as both squads headed to the locker room with the Union once again down and searching for answers.
As the second half opened, Montreal continued pressing for their second goal, creating dangerous chances as Philadelphia’s defense scrambled to clear multiple attempts.
Blake’s save off Matthew Longstaff following a cross from Jaime forced the Jamaican keeper to bail out the defense yet again with a nifty stop, as the road side looked for an opportunity to level the match and avoid dropping seven in a row.
That moment would come shortly after in the 55th minute off a free kick from Iloski, who drove the ball with enough touch to allow Sery Larsen to run onto it and deliver a bullet header past Gillier and into the back of the net for his first goal as a member of the Philadelphia Union. For Iloski, it marked his second assist of the MLS season.
That goal was the spark the Union squad had been searching for, and for a moment it seemed as if Iloski found enough space following the restart to run in behind the defense, forcing Gillier out and allowing Iloski to finesse a nice touch into the net. However, he was ruled offside as the match remained level.
“Really happy for Jeff,” said Carnell on Sery Larsen. “You know, he’s got the buy-in of his teammates. He works every day. He’s communicating. He tries to bring the group together in ways that others maybe don’t. He has a few more experiences than others, and we have to tap into that a little bit more.”
Carnell then turned to Alladoh, bringing off Ben Bender in search of a spark as the match became increasingly chaotic, with both sides pushing for the go-ahead goal.
Carnell’s faith in his young striker was rewarded in the 70th minute as the forward delivered a header into the open area of the box, allowing a charging Bueno to beat Montreal’s keeper and put the road side up 2-1 for his first goal of 2026. It also marked Alladoh’s first career assist for the Union.
Additionally, the goal marked the first time in MLS play in 2026 that Philadelphia held a lead in a match.
“He plays with a lot of pride,” said Carnell on Bueno. “You know, he plays with a lot on the line, and he plays, he gives everything every single day. So, you know, I’m really happy for Jesús. He had a great shot in the first half, and Gillier makes an excellent save. But I just think it was in the right spacing, the right moments. He has a good dynamic of when to attack and when to go and when to hold up just behind, you know, the 10s and securing the defense with Makanya and Jeff.”
The Union thought they had a third goal as an Indiana Vassilev cross found a diving Alejandro Bedoya header, forcing Thomas Gillier to make an acrobatic save to keep Montreal’s deficit at one.
As the match wound down, Montreal had one final chance following a foul from Jovan Lukic on Hennadii Synchuk, but the subsequent free kick sailed well over the net as the final whistle blew, giving Philadelphia their first win of the 2026 MLS season and marking the first time the club has defeated CF Montreal in back-to-back road matches.
In a match that saw 37 fouls and seven yellow cards, Philadelphia did what it needed to do to secure all three points, finding a way to grind down its opponent in a physical contest.
While Carnell is right in his comment that it is only three points and that they recognize they have a long way to go to dig themselves out of this slow start, Saturday’s victory offers hope and momentum that perhaps better days are ahead.
“We were brave. We took risks in the right ways. And I thought we were very physical in a manner that we turned over the ball. We just didn’t give fouls away. So, that was very impressive for me,” said Carnell.
“We showed within the philosophy, the two versus one and winning the ball back cleanly, and then transitioning and staying on the ball, especially against a man marking outfit like Montreal, really happy for the boys the way they applied the tactics once the lead is in hand, and the mentality that has to change to holding on closing it out in a way that hasn’t happened yet.”
Philadelphia will now look to build off this win next Saturday as they return home to face D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. at Subaru Park.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union.
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