Atlanta United vs. Philadelphia Union: 3 questions with Philly Sports Network’s Jimmy King

Maybe the fourth time’s a charm for Atlanta United?

Through three matches, Atlanta United have collectively scored two more goals than you, the reader, and I, the writer, combined. Not great! Both of them came off the foot of Alexey Miranchuk in arguably his best match in an Atlanta uniform. Unfortunately, the defense let him down.

Atlanta’s next chance at getting right, then, is on Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Union. It’s safe to say that the defending Supporters’ Shield winners haven’t looked anything remotely resembling their form from last year. Much of that is because several key players — Tai Baribo, Jakob Glesnes, Kai Wagner, and Mikael Uhre — are no longer with the club. That’s made for a worse attacking output than Atlanta’s: just one goal scored all season. Philly has had to deal with the Concacaf Champions Cup, but its lack of scoring may have caught up to it there as well after a 1-0 loss to Club América in Leg 1 of a Round of 16 tie.

For more on the Union, I reached out to Jimmy King (X | Bsky) from the Philly Sports Network (website | X | Bsky).

After winning the Supporters’ Shield, the 2025 offseason was one of major change for the Union roster. What, do you, think, went behind those decisions, and who are they leaning on to fill those roles?

The changes that came this off-season were based on a mixture of things — cashing in on guys at the perceived right time (Glesnes, Baribo), moving on from players you don’t think best fit the team’s style of play (Mikael Uhre), and finally getting a player a move he’s desired for years (Kai Wagner). But moving on from three All-Stars and a fourth starting-caliber player in one offseason is a big turnover, with much of the replacements made up of young — although promising — talent without MLS experience.

The team will look to rely on Nate Harriel and Andre Blake to bring leadership on the field, with Ale Bedoya acting as that leader’s presence in the locker room. Milan Iloksi has been given a big role on this team, playing both at the No. 10 and as the second forward. Olwethu Makhanya, now CB1 for the Union, will take on big responsibility in protecting the Union’s backline this season as he tries to make his way into the South African World Cup squad. Danley Jean Jacques, also hoping to make the World Cup with Haiti, is another name the Union will rely on to control the midfield game in and game out this season.

This next question is a simple one. The Union have scored just one goal in three games, a penalty from Indiana Vassilev. How do they get more out of their attack?

Like I said, a ton of turnover in the off-season. It’s going to take time for Bruno Damiani, Agustin Anello, Ezekiel Alladoh, Indiana Vassilev, and Milan Iloski to figure out how to best work with each other. Out of those players, Indiana Vassilev has been in Philadelphia the longest, with his debut coming just March 1st of last year. Each game, they’ve gotten closer and closer to finding the back of the net, and they are getting in dangerous positions; they’re just missing that bite inside the box that they’ve had in years prior with Tai Baribo, Julian Carranza, etc.

It’s a bit of a cop out answer, and I’m not predicting that they’ll end up being one of the highest scoring teams in the league or anything, but I do think “time” and experience playing together is going to be the remedy to the Union’s scoring woes they’ve experienced early this season.

I‘ve seen some criticism about Cavan Sullivan and how he’s been utilized under Bradley Carnell (just 27 minutes so far this season). Do you agree/disagree with those assessments?

Cavan is just a kid, and I think the team has a plan in place on how they want to develop Cavan into becoming the best player he can be as adult, and I’m certainly in no position to argue whether they’re taking the right or incorrect approach in that journey — it’s just not my area of expertise.

What I will say is that I’ve watched Cavan for a number of years now, and he’s always played multiple age groups up and against bigger and more physical players, and he’s still always been the best player on the field. And even though he’s just 16, and many of the players he’s up against now are again bigger and more physical (and have much more experience), he has, in his small bit of playing time this year, looked like one of the more influential players on the pitch for the Union. What’s that saying, “If they’re good enough, they’re old enough”?

While I think people should have tempered expectations with him, as he is just a kid, I think he’s surprising a lot of people with his play so far this season, and I hope he continues to get the opportunity to build on that and grow confidence. He looks like he’s someone who can really contribute in the near future for this team.