After 45 minutes of struggling to break down Chicago’s tight man-marking system, complete with Bastian Schweinsteiger as a real-life, actual sweeper, Philadelphia Union’s Brazilian magician took took up his five-toed wands and unleashed a dazzling spell. Here’s how PhiladelphiaUnion.com broke it down after the match.
Ilsinho put Schweinsteiger into the spin cycle and left Brandon Vincent in a Wonder Years time freeze at the exact same time. But the opportunity to face up defenders came from the intelligent play of Keegan Rosenberry, Borek Dockal, and Cory Burke.
Burke was maligned on social media for his lack of statistically-measurable contributions beyond his goal, but against the Fire’s setup it was far more important that he take away Schweinsteiger’s time and draw his defender, often Kevin Ellis, out of the back line to open space for others.