Kellyn Acosta's redemptive goal lifts LAFC to dramatic 1-1 draw at Philadelphia Union in Leg 1

Another 90 minutes of live soccer between LAFC and Philadelphia, and we still can’t separate these two sides. A 1-1 draw featuring a penalty kick and a stoppage-time equalizer in the rematch was a fitting tribute to their thrilling display in MLS Cup last November.

Daniel Gazdag converted from the spot to put the Union ahead in the 86th minute, but Kellyn Acosta – the man at fault for the Union penalty – had LAFC’s answer just five minutes later, sending the tie back to Los Angeles all even at one goal apiece.

“We lacked a little composure on the ball,” Cherundolo said. “If we can add that element to our game and bring the same fight, bring the same intensity, then I think we can come out on top and we’ll create more chances to score.”

Can’t put them away

Over the weekend in Nashville, this LAFC team found itself trailing in an MLS match for the first time all year. It was only the second time in all competitions – the other being the second-leg CCL defeat to Alajuelense in a series LAFC won handily on aggregate. 

Denis Bouanga rifled home a second-half equalizer to salvage the point against Nashville, and Carlos Vela put the Alajuelense series to bed with a goal in the 83rd minute.

Entering stoppage time in Chester on Wednesday night, LAFC had its back truly up against the wall for the first time this season. The Black and Gold were five minutes from heading into the second leg behind a goal without the ability to add one away from home.

“In this game,” Cherundolo said, “you can play really well, you lose. You can play poorly, you win. So I’m not too concerned with the how anymore." 

In the first minute of stoppage time, the man who scored the opener in last year’s MLS Cup — and was nearly the goat in this match for a handball that resulted in the Union's go-ahead penalty kick — delivered another gut punch to the Union faithful. 

Jack Elliot’s attempted clearance deflected off Leon Flach, keeping the ball in LAFC’s attacking third. Acosta won the race to the loose ball, poking it ahead to Mateusz Bogusz who tapped it on to Tim Tillman out wide on the right side.

Tillman controlled it down and threaded a perfect ball that Bouanga grazed on its way to Acosta – making a late run into the box – who met it at the penalty spot and looped it past the diving Andre Blake to bring the Black and Gold level. 

“It’s kind of a theme we’ve carried over from last season,” Cherundolo said of his team’s depth affecting games late, “giving us the ability to change the momentum of games in the second half with our substitutions… I think that was what enabled us to find a way to get a goal tonight.”

Just three times this season, LAFC has fallen behind. And in all three matches, they weren’t done scoring. It was Vela in the round of 16. Bouanga delivered over the weekend. And Tuesday night in the CCL semis, it was Tillman and Acosta who combined to manufacture the brilliance.

It doesn’t matter who’s on the field. It doesn’t matter where they’re playing or who’s on the other side. Even in the scarce amount of time they’ve trailed in 2023, the Black and Gold have proven themselves resilient, and it might just get them back in the Champions League final. 

Half a goal ahead

While it’s been done away for its European counterpart tournament, the away goals rule is still alive and well in CONCACAF.

It’s hardly been a footnote for LAFC through the first two rounds of the competition, having posted a pair of 3-0 victories in opening legs away from home at Alajuelense and Vancouver.

Since Acosta’s stoppage-time equalizer came at the Union's, LAFC is in the driver’s seat heading back home to BMO Stadium. A scoreless draw Tuesday night would send the Black and Gold through to the final, and even one LAFC goal would force Philadelphia to score twice to win the series. 

“We’re going back to LA and we have an away goal,” Cherundolo said. “It’s a game we want to win, and if we win we’re through to the finals. That’s all that concerns me right now.”

However, as the Round of 16 proved, that task is hardly as simple as it sounds. It’s been discussed ad nauseum, but it bears repeating once again. Entering the second leg wit a 3-0 lead over Alajuelense, LAFC merely had to hold serve and coast on to a spot in the quarterfinals. 

But 52 minutes in, LAFC had conceded a pair of goals with nothing to show for it on the other end, and the visitors missed a great chance at a third which could have sent the tie into extra time. 

The Black and Gold ultimately got the goal to slam the door, and they turned in a much more convincing 3-0 showing in their quarterfinal return leg against the Whitecaps. But the margin for error against the Union is much smaller than in either of those previous matchups.

No team has matched this LAFC team as Philadelphia has proven able to since the start of the 2022 season. And while the hosts will start a half a goal clear, one Union goal means they can’t advance with just one goal at home on Tuesday.

If LAFC concedes a second, it’ll need three goals against a Union side that’s only allowed three one time this season to advance on to the final. The reigning MLS champs start next week in the driver’s seat, but this tie could turn in a hurry. And Philadelphia is more than capable of flipping the second leg on its head.

“I don’t really need to say anything to these players,” Cherundolo said. “They understand the magnitude of the moment… the players know what’s coming their way, and they know how to deal with it. And they will give an answer on Tuesday.”

Anyone’s ball game

The away goal swings the pendulum ever-so-slightly towards LAFC heading into the second leg, but this semifinal tie is still very much a tossup at the halfway point. The margin between these two teams is razor thin, and if we get an identical scoreline at BMO Stadium on Tuesday, it’ll take penalties to separate them once again.

From the start of last season on, LAFC and Philadelphia have played 300 minutes plus stoppage time of live soccer. They’re tied 6-6 on aggregate in that time span, with each of the three contests played to a dead heat at the end of regulation.

This matchup is the epitome of punch, counterpunch. What is done is often always undone in short order. Leads are short lived, advantage fleeting. Last night’s opening leg was no different.

“It was much of what we saw in the second half of the MLS Cup final,” Cherundolo said of the Union’s setup. “That’s what we expected and that’s what we got … Obviously, hats off to Philly, but it wasn’t a surprise to us.”

Possession was split a perfect 50/50 over the 90 minutes. Each side attempted nine shots, the Union putting five on target to LAFC’s four. The visitors completed 74% of their passes while the hosts connected on 73%.

A singular yellow card was brandished in both directions. Both teams committed exactly 11 fouls and recorded 16 clearances. John McCarthy made four saves to Blake’s three, and LAFC recorded 15 interceptions to Philadelphia’s 14.

Though Acosta was deemed guilty of a handball which the Union then converted to grab the lead in a match that looked like it could have deadlocked 0-0, Acosta netted the equalizer on the other end almost instantly in response.

Nearly everything about tonight was dead even. The order and even the chaos found a way to exist in a perfect balance. Expected next week’s return leg to be no different, and though being lucky depends on your perspective, we could luck into some extra soccer.