CHESTER, Pa. — On Thursday evening, the Philadelphia Union and Cruz Azul met in the first match for both clubs in Phase One of Leagues Cup. For Philadelphia, this was their third time appearing in the tournament between MLS and Liga MX, and marked the second time both clubs have met in the tournament.
And as in 2024, Subaru Park was once again filled with the blue and white of Cruz Azul supporters throughout the parking lot and around the stadium,eager to cheer on their club while bringing their energy and noise well before the match during warmups.
An early goal from Cruz Azul would be the difference on the evening as the Liga MX squad walked out with all three points in a 1-0 win.
“They’re a good team and they had the momentum for the first 20 minutes of the first half and then I think we settled in,” Richter said about the team’s performance.
“Probably didn’t create enough chances for some of the good pressing moments that we had and and some of the better spells that we had towards the end of the the first half.”
Richter continued, “And then really proud of the second half. We got in very dangerous positions. I think we controlled the second half.”
When the starting eleven came out, there were five changes from Philadelphia’s match with Atlanta United on Saturday. In addition to those changes, Philadelphia would start five Homegrown players, the most this season.
Andrew Rick returned to the net for the first time since starting on May 13 against Orlando City. The back line featured Frankie Westfield, Nathan Harriel (wearing the captain’s armband), Kai Wagner, and Japhet Sery Larsen, who returned to the starting eleven on the evening.
Sery Larsen mentioned after the match that his shoulder and hamstring have been feeling better since returning.
In the midfield, Jesús Bueno returned to the starting eleven alongside Danley Jean Jacques. Quinn Sullivan made his first start since returning from his injury, with his younger brother Cavan Sullivan joining him, marking the first time the brothers have started a match together.
They became just the second pair of brothers in club history to start the same match, joining Michael and Gabriel Farfan in 2011.
“Yeah, it was great. It’s great to see him back, and obviously start again,” said Cavan Sullivan on starting with his older brother. “Obviously, still has some restrictions, but you know, it’s it’s great to see him back dynamic, beating guys, and we had we had a couple link ups, some unsuccessful, some unsuccessful. I’m really happy.”
Ezekiel Alladoh and Milan IIoski, both coming off goals in the first match of the season, got the nod for Interim Head Coach Ryan Richter.
The bench for Philadelphia consisted of George Marks, Andre Blake, Jovan Lukic, Bruno Damiani, Alejandro Bedoya, Ben Bender, Jeremy Rafanello, Indiana Vassilev, Agustin Anello, Neil Pierre, and Malik Jakupovic.
Just like in 2024 when these two clubs met, the crowd was heavily in favor of Cruz Azul as both squads kicked off.
José Paradela and Cruz Azul wasted no time getting on the board in the third minute thanks to a classy feed from Omar Campos, leaving Paradela alone at the top of the 18-yard box and allowing the midfielder to drive the shot past Rick to make it 1-0 as the Cruz Azul supporters erupted in celebration.
“I think the first 10 minutes, we’re not on the front foot in the way that we like to be and that led to some pretty good chances for them and the goal as well,” Richter said about the opening of the match.
The match would then get a little chippy, and following the goal, José Paradela fouled Wagner, leading to the first yellow card of the match and awarding Philadelphia a free kick.
Moments later, though, after Philadelphia was unable to clear the ball following a Gabriel Fernández fast break, Westfield fell down trying to clear the cross and missed, allowing Omar Campos the opportunity to finish off the play for the second goal of the evening.
Following a VAR check on the goal, it was ruled that Gabriel Fernández was offside in the buildup, thus negating the goal. Philadelphia countered with their first real challenge of the match to try to draw it level, but Kai Wagner’s attempt hit the side of the net.
But the damage was done as the Liga MX side kept attacking down the flanks, keeping Philadelphia on its heels. Bueno picked up a foul in the 24th minute on Erik Lira, causing Cruz Azul’s bench to get up and protest for a red card.
During the hydration break, Ryan Richter was very animated with his players, delivering his message with the passion and fire we have seen from the young coach, especially during his time with Union II.
But for the most part, in the first half, every time Philadelphia had a moment or created a chance to gain some momentum, Cruz Azul found a way to counter right away, putting the Union back line on its heels.
With four minutes of stoppage time left in the half, Cruz Azul kept pressing for a second goal as it seemed Philadelphia, while trying to counter, was also trying to just make it to halftime. Agustín Palavecino’s rocket of a shot hit the side of the net.
As for the message to the squad at halftime, Japhet Sery Larsen provided some insight.
“I think we had a good feeling when we came in, even though we were down one-nil. As I said, the start were not too good, but I think we showed ourselves in the second half of what we’re capable of. I think that’s the standard that we have to build in the second half.”
The second half was indeed a much stronger half for the Union.
Milan IIoski had the first real scoring opportunity following Quinn Sullivan’s quick decision on a turnover, slotting it to Milan charging in on net, but the final touch missed wide, leaving the deficit at one.
Erik Lira picked up a yellow card for a foul on Cavan Sullivan, earning Philadelphia a free kick. The Mexican side was able to defend and then go on the counter, creating a few opportunities that Philadelphia was able to clear.
Sullivan, in the 57th minute, had two wonderful chances that he barely missed. The first was on a slick backheeled pass that went right at Kevin Meir, an opportunity that Cavan would most likely want back. Then, not even a moment later, Sullivan slipped through the defense, but his shot just missed.
Cruz Azul brought on Romero Luka and Nicholas Ibañez for Gabriel Fernandez and Omar Campos. Richter countered by taking off Quinn and Ezekiel for Bruno Damiani and Indiana Vassilev for Philadelphia’s first substitutions.
On the evening, Richter praised the elder Sullivan’s minutes, though he mentioned the midfielder is still on the road back to full strength.
“You can see in flashes he’s not 100% where he will get to, but you can see in flashes the the option and how dynamic he can be and how how he can make this team better, you know. So, it was a good step in this recovery piece for him.”
Richter also mentioned he thought Quinn got stronger as the match went on, but that it was always going to be 45 to 60 minutes for him on the evening.
And that was the difference for Philadelphia through the first 30 minutes of the second half, as the Union seemed to be more confident in their abilities and were creating chance after chance.
In the 76th minute, Agustin Anello came on for Bueno, Jovan Lukic came in for Harriel, while Neil Pierre checked in for Sery Larsen.
With five minutes remaining before stoppage time, Philadelphia kept attacking down the flanks, crossing into Cruz Azul’s defensive area and trying to get something to connect and find a goal.
Philadelphia thought they had a handball in the final moments of regular time, but referee Juan Gabriel Calderon stuck to his initial call despite the pleas for a VAR check from the players and Union coaching staff.
On his thoughts about the decision, Richter thought it was a handball, though he never spoke to the referee about it. When asked about it, Quinn and Cavan Sullivan had no comment, but Jesús Bueno switched to answering in English in his post-match commentary to say, “Clear penalty. Disgusting situation how the referee [didn’t] even see the VAR. But I mean, what are we gonna do?”
But even in defeat, Richter praised his players’ effort and belief against the talented Liga MX side and praised how they looked in the match, especially while admitting they looked to be the stronger side in the second half.
Bruno Damiani gave the Union one final attempt at leveling the match, heading a shot on target but right at Meir for a save.
Cruz Azul would run out the final minutes of stoppage time to pick up three points on the evening and leave Chester with a 1-0 victory.
While the first half belonged more to Cruz Azul, Philadelphia responded in the second half, creating 25 touches in their opponent’s box and 11 shots, with four on target, compared to only eight touches and three shots in the first half.
Cavan Sullivan had several chances, and was frustrated to not finish them, but determined to keep pushing. He remarked afterward, “Yeah, I mean, I want to take responsibility. I think two that that I missed, I’m not happy about them. They need to be put to bed. I apologize to my to my team and the fans. I think obviously, you know, in the Leagues Cup, every chance matters, and it could affect us in the future. So those ones are going to keep me up at night. But look, can’t dwell on it. Got to move on.”
Jesús Bueno shared (in Spanish, translated to English), “It’s a terrible feeling. I think we might have made some mistakes. It’s a very unwanted result, but I’m taking away the positives: how well we fought in the second half and the grit the team showed. We needed to be a bit more clinical in front of goal. I think we had plenty of chances—especially in the second half—that we couldn’t finish off; the situations were very similar.”
“The way that we responded, the way that we pushed, proud of that and that’s what we have to continue to build on and take this one on the chin, move on it, get better from it, and then approach the next game, go for another win at home.”
While Thursday night’s loss will make things difficult in terms of advancing out of Phase One, depending on the outcomes for the remaining MLS sides throughout the rest of the phase, it is not impossible.
In 2025, both Puebla and Tigres advanced to the knockout round with six points on two wins, so it is possible. However, with 10 MLS teams getting three points through their first match, it does make things tricky. The Union will have to win both matches and hope to get a big goal differential if they hope to have a chance.
“It’s a quick turnaround,” Quinn Sullivan said post match. “We kind of got to forget it, and you know, not forget it, but know that we have a lot of work to do if we want to move on in this tournament, which we definitely do. That’s the vibe in the locker room, is, you know—we’re disappointed. This isn’t like a throwaway. You know, League Cup, League’s Cup this, Leagues Cup that. Like we wanted to win, we want to win this, and we’re going to need two emphatic wins to do that.”
Next up for the Union is Necaxa, which lost 2-0 to the Chicago Fire on Thursday. The match will mark the return of former forward Julian Carranza to face his old club for the first time. The match is scheduled for Sunday, August 9, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Jillian Almoney contributed to this article.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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