Vancouver Whitecaps shock Philly with 7-goal statement: "We're not stopping" | OneFootball

By Alex Calabrese

Vancouver Whitecaps FC may be one of MLS’s hottest teams heading into the home stretch of the 2025 season.

Vancouver officially clinched an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot in resounding fashion on Saturday, taking a statement 7-0 win over the Supporters’ Shield-leading Philadelphia Union, fueled by the first MLS hat trick for star summer signing Thomas Müller

“It’s nothing you could have predicted beforehand,” head coach Jesper Sørensen said postgame. “This was a great test for us, there was a little bit of a playoff vibe before this game… I think the players came out in the right way, with the right mindset, to keep attacking even after we got off to that good start.”

Müller breaks out

Müller was at the center of it, scoring three times and adding an assist. The one-sided victory keeps Vancouver alive in the Supporters' Shield chase, as they’re now within five points of Philadelphia with two games in hand.

“We all have the same mentality, and it’s to keep going and not settle for less,” said winger Emmanuel Sabbi, who scored twice on the night. “We’re not going to think that we’re the best in the West, we need to show it and not think it. We come out every day on the pitch and try to show ourselves and the coach that we’re the best.”

By halftime, the Whitecaps found themselves four goals up, punishing the Union's partially rotated lineup. They did not take their foot off the gas in the second half and notched three more, including highlight-reel-worthy finishes from Sabbi and Müller.

The tally of seven goals breaks a club record for the British Columbia side, adding yet another accolade to their impressive season. San Jose and San Diego are the only Western Conference teams to find the net more times in 2025 than the Whitecaps.

“Philly is still top of the league,” Müller said postgame. “To win 7-0 against them, even at home, that’s a very special day… so we can be proud for two days, and then we go again.”

WATCH: Happy Birthday! German legend Thomas Müller nets first MLS hat trick

Birthday boy

Müller arrived in MLS last month with one of the best résumés in world soccer, but the instant impact he’s had with the already-impressive Whitecaps has been nothing short of remarkable. After a stoppage-time game-winner in his last match against St. Louis, the longtime German international notched his sixth career hat trick and first in North America.

Müller started strong in his third MLS appearance. He converted a pair of first-half penalties and added an assist before placing the cherry on top with an 88th-minute headed finish to wrap up the hat trick and the 7-0 scoreline.

“What I love about this team is, and you saw it in all three games I’ve played now, is that we’re not stopping,” Müller said. “We don’t stop, even if we’re up or down or if it’s a draw, we don’t stop.

“That’s the message we want to send. Firstly, to us internally, but also to the other teams. We won’t stop until the last minute. That should be our mentality for the rest of the season and also for the future.”

It isn’t the first time in his career Müller has been a major part of a seven-goal drubbing – he was at the center of Germany’s famous 7-1 FIFA World Cup semifinal win over Brazil en route to being crowned world champions in 2014.

But this one had a different charm: The attacker’s hat trick fell on the day he turned 36, making him the first player in MLS history to find the net three times on his birthday.

“I have no birthday, I have matchday,” Müller said. “I had some phone calls from friends, and they all told me the same: score some goals. And that’s what we did.”

CanChamp four-peat?

With a playoff spot now secured, the Whitecaps are well on their way this fall as they pursue three trophies down the stretch.

On Tuesday, they host Forge FC in a second-leg semifinal of the Canadian Championship, a tournament they’ve won each of the last three seasons. They’ll then look to claim a first-ever Supporters’ Shield title and control their own destiny with six MLS games to play.

And, after clinching a postseason berth on Saturday, they're in the running to be crowned MLS Cup champions for the first time.

“I will hope for a matchup like this in the playoffs because it can only be in the final,” Sørensen said. “This should give us a good confidence boost. This should definitely give us a standard that we can set. We know how we can play, and I think we were well prepared for this game.”

WATCH: Vancouver Whitecaps score SEVEN goals in Philadelphia Union rout