Philadelphia have ‘full focus’ on ending Chicago series in game two, says Carnell

Philadelphia Union head coach Bradley Carnell insisted his team have “full focus” on ending their playoff series against the Chicago Fire in game two.

The Supporters’ Shield winners won the first game in the best-of-three series on penalties after Chicago came back from two goals down in the dying moments of the match.

The Union will be looking to avoid a deciding match back in Philadelphia, while a win in Chicago on Saturday will see them face either Charlotte FC or New York City FC in the quarter-finals of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Carnell was adamant in his press conference that his side will be looking to put Chicago to the sword and book their spot in the next round as early as possible.

“I don’t have a crystal ball. All I know is that we have an advantage in the series,” said Carnell.

“We have a massive opportunity to tie up the series in two matches, so this is our full focus.

“We have been to Chicago once already [this season], and we got a really good result there with a rotated lineup.

“We are just getting guys regenerated, back fit, back healthy, back strong. We have a whole contingency to travel and then we will put out a squad that is very competitive.

“We are a team of principals, and we have always spoken about and always trained with, so we will focus on ourselves and our principals.

“Hopefully we can finish it off in two [matches].”

Chicago’s defeat to Philadelphia in game one was their first loss in seven matches, and just their third since July 16.

But despite having the second-best away record in the Eastern Conference this season, the Fire only had the 10th-best home record in 2025.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chicago Fire – Jack Elliott

Jack Elliott scored his fourth career playoff goal last time out, and his first since scoring a brace for Philadelphia in the 2022 MLS Cup Final.

All four of his postseason goals have come in the second half, with three of them coming in the 85th minute or later.

Philadelphia Union – Milan Iloski

Following his move to Philadelphia halfway through the season, Milan Iloski scored three goals and provided six assists in 10 MLS games.

He also scored in game one against the Fire, which was his first MLS Cup goal. Each of the last five goals scored by the Union in the playoffs have come from first-time postseason goal scorers.

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

After the first match went all the way to penalties, the Opta supercomputer predicts a similar outcome in game two.

Philadelphia allowed the third-fewest road goals (20) in the regular season but conceded nine goals in their last three away games after just 11 goals in their first 14. The Union held opponents to one goal or fewer in 13 of their league road matches, most in MLS.

The Fire scored off a corner kick and from outside the box in game one against the Union. Chicago led MLS in corner kick goals (11, tied with Minnesota and Vancouver) and was tied for second in goals from outside the box (13) during the regular season.

Philadelphia have just three losses in their last 18 meetings (W10 D5 including a penalty shootout win) across all competitions against Chicago.

The Union have scored multiple goals in 13 of those matches compared to the Fire’s seven, with four of the last six meetings ending with both teams scoring multiple goals.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chicago Fire – 38.7%

Draw – 26.5%

Philadelphia Union – 34.8%