Philadelphia Union & Columbus Crew primed to battle for East's top spot | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

What’s in the offing when Eastern Conference frontrunners the Columbus Crew visit their closest pursuers, the Philadelphia Union, in one of Matchday 12’s biggest fixtures on Saturday night (7:30 pm ET | Apple TV - MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+)?

“We expect 'Philly style,'” deadpanned Crew coach Wilfried Nancy in Wednesday's press conference.

He wasn’t referencing a cheesesteak or hoagie order, but the muscular high pressing, direct transitions and combative edge that have become central to the Union’s ethos, a rugged philosophy dialed up another notch or two in intensity during 2025 by first-year boss Bradley Carnell.

“They win games, and they win the way they want to win,” added Nancy. “It means that they don't need the ball. They just need to do the offensive transitions that they do well. Aggressive team.”

Styles collide

Philly might just be the league’s furthest stylistic opposite from his own meticulous, daringly aggressive, possession-friendly system, which has reaped two trophies in two-plus seasons in Ohio. Among many other data points: The Crew's pass completion rate (88.3%) is third-best in MLS and they rank even higher in their percentage of ball possession; Philly's completion rate is second-lowest at 77.5% and their possession numbers are on similar levels.

This is by choice. The DOOP squad have been ruthless and occasionally downright devastating going forward, indeed more prolific than pass-happy Columbus in the final third, their 21 goals tied for third-most in the league. Clinical striker Tai Baribo (7g/0a) co-leads the Golden Boot presented by Audi race, one tally ahead of the Crew’s Uruguayan spark Diego Rossi (6g/1a). It’s two different flavors of expression, both capable of beauty, as subjective as that term may be.

“You can see a lot of intricate, fluid play progressing,” Carnell told MLSsoccer.com of his productive attack in March, flashing his comfort with analytics data as signposts of progress. “Maybe you guys would think of, I don't know, other teams out there who play possession-style soccer, but to be third-best in the league at deep progressions and final-third entries, that for me speaks volumes about the freedom and the fluidity we have with that front group right now.”

Philly’s characteristic work rate and physicality amplify their game model, often giving Subaru Park a demolition derby vibe, whereas the Crew’s long buildups and patterns of play tend to lend a more symphonic character to Lower.com Field.

Nancy all but admitted the Union will carve open his defense at least a few times, hinting that his team intends to pass their way through the press and create a volume of chances at the other end.

“They are younger also, so they run more!” wisecracked Nancy. “This desire to aggress the opposition, they do it well … When we face a team with a style of play like that, they’re going to get chances, it’s normal, because they like to create chaotic situations. So we have to be good defensively, and also to match their intensity.”

Eastern Conference elites

There appears to be mutual respect, more overlap than it might seem when it comes to methodology, and perhaps also a kinship in these sides’ insistence on imposing their preferred tempo on the opposition at all costs, as diametrical as they may be.

“We take interest in really good playing teams, and they’re probably one of the best, if not the best, playing team in the league right now,” said Carnell this week. “So I have a huge respect for Wilfred and what he's done there.

“Their counterpressing is really good. I think they control spaces that they want to,” added the South African, who considers last week’s trip to Nancy’s former club CF Montréal, a 2-1 win, “a good sort of precursor” for this test. “[Columbus] are very vertical, they're very dynamic, they can hurt you in many ways. And they’re also very progressive and adventurous.”

Carnell was also quick to note their shared commitment to player development. Both clubs can point to academy products like emerging Union fullback Frankie Westfield and his fellow homegrown Quinn Sullivan, who, with 1g/6a in the season's first 11 matches, is blossoming into one of MLS's elite chance creators. Or the ‘project’ players polished in MLS NEXT Pro that litter the Crew’s lineups: Mo Farsi, Jacen Russell-Rowe, Max Arfsten, among others.

“He believes in similar things to what we believe in terms of development, and progressing talents through the ranks and what have you,” said Carnell of Nancy. “He's done a great job at that … Massive respect for them. I'm going to enjoy the prospect of coming up against Wilfried again.”

That combination of contrasts and commonalities may add both light and heat to this weekend’s clash.

“This is what I like about football,” said Nancy. “Because Philly and us, we have a good momentum for the moment – we will see in the future – but we don't play the same way, I would say. We don't have the same style of play, and both work. So that’s why for me this is amazing, to see two different styles of play like that.

“The idea is to be ourselves; to match the intensity is really important, and after that to be good also on set pieces, because they are really good, and also to control their offensive transitions.”

A club legend returns

It can’t be totally coincidental that the Crew looked to the Union for their showcase primary transfer window reinforcement, acquiring attacking midfielder Dániel Gazdag in a cash-for-player trade for $4 million up front and $500,000 in conditional incentives last month. The Hungarian international signed a contract extension this week and will be available for selection against his former team after sitting out last week’s win over Charlotte FC with a knock.

He’ll be up for the occasion.

“This is going to be the first time that I'm playing there as an opponent, so obviously it's a little bit more than just a game,” said Gazdag on Thursday.

“They have their own idea about the game, about how they're trying to play every weekend. So that's what we expect: they will play with intensity, they will try to press us high, but we will be ready for that.”