Thursday, October 1, 2026
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77 ° Clear
Tempers flared at Subaru Park on Wednesday night as the reigning MLS Cup Champs, Inter Miami, traveled to Chester, PA to take on the Philadelphia Union. Philly fought back, both in a figurative and literal sense, to earn points from a losing position for the 3rd consecutive game under Interim Head Coach Ryan Richter.
Philadelphia Union midfielder Indiana Vassilev (19) reacts with midfielder Cavan Sullivan (6) and forward Milan Iloski (10) after scoring a goal against Inter Miami CF in the first half at Subaru Park.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Philadelphia Union’s Indiana Vassilev got the scoring started in the 11th minute of the match with a nice volley finish to beat Dayne St Clair. The play started with a nice ball down the right sideline from Cavan Sullivan to spring Frankie Westfield on the attack.
Westfield sent a right-footed cross into the middle of Miami’s penalty area, which flew over the head of Bruno Damiani, but right into the path of Vassliev, who was unmarked in the 6-yard box. Vassliev redirected the ball from Westfield with the inside of his right foot and hit the back of the net to give the Union an early 1-0 lead with his 3rd goal of the MLS season.
In the 20th minute, a back-heeled pass from Milan Iloski near the halfway line sent Bruno Damiani in on a breakaway with just the Miami keeper to beat, but Dayne St. Clair made a big save on Damiani’s bid to keep Union’s lead to 1.
Just one minute later, Inter Miami would level the match thanks to Dániel Pintér converting on Andre Blake’s doorstep. Lionel Messi played a left-footed ball over the top to Luis Suárez waiting at the back post.
Suárez headed the ball back across the face of goal, which evaded the outstretched leg of Neil Pierre, finding Pintér open to put the ball into the back of the net for his first MLS goal.
Then in the 26th minute it was Lionel Messi that found the back of the net to flip the game on it’s head in Chester. Messi received the ball inside the penalty area to Andre Blake’s left side, covered by Union’s Kai Wagner.
Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Philadelphia Union in the first half at Subaru Park.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Messi shifted the ball to his left, got Wagner to bite on a shot fake, and then placed the ball into the far corner of the net to give Miami a 2-1 lead, which they would take into the halftime break.
Miami did its best to play mind games with the Union all night, as it does with most opponents. But not even delaying the start of the 2nd half with an extra-long halftime break could help them keep the lead at Subaru Park against Ryan Richter’s comeback kids.
In the 58th minute, 18-year-old center back Pierre got the Union level by way of a free kick from Milan Iloski. After Kai Wagner was fouled on the side of the penalty box to St.Clair’s right, Iloski sent in a fizzing ball from a dangerous angle that found Pierre on the doorstep of Miami’s goal.
Pierre bent his 6-foot-7-inch frame down to get his head on the ball at the near post, and hit the back of the net to draw the game level with his 3rd goal in 5 MLS games.
3 minutes later, it looked like Milan Iloski gave the Union a 3-2 lead with a goal from another set piece chance, but the goal was eventually disallowed for an offside call on Neil Pierre, who initially headed the ball that Iloski would put into the back of the net.
In the 71st minute, Iloski had another chance to provide Philadelphia with the lead over Miami after a great linkup between him and Cavan Sullivan sent Union’s leading goal-scorer behind the defense.
Iloski entered the box and had Danley Jean-Jacques arriving into the area unmarked as an option, but elected to take the shot himself and was denied by the right hand of Dayne St. Clair, keeping the game level at 2-2.
Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) collides with Philadelphia Union defender Kai Wagner (27) in the second half at Subaru Park.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Both teams traded a few chances as the match started to wind down, but neither was able to find the back of the net heading towards the final whistle.
But then, late in stoppage time, Quinn Sullivan went down in the box looking for a penalty; all chaos quickly erupted. The shouts for a penalty were quickly waved off, and as Sullivan sat on the pitch contesting the call, Inter Miami’s Ian Fray stood overtop of Sullivan, grabbed his head, and stepped over the Union midfielder with his head between his legs.
Philadelphia Union midfielder Quinn Sullivan (33) and Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) react in the second half at Subaru Park.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Or tried to, at least. Sullivan did his best Cooper DeJean impersonation and took Fray down to the ground with a strong tackle, which drew a massive crowd of angry players from both sides.
First to the pile was Miami’s Yannick Bright, who attempted to pull Sullivan off his teammate from behind.
Next to the scrum was 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan, coming to the defense of his older brother. Cavan pulled Bright off the pile and away from the mess, which led to both players coming together and making face contact, resulting in red cards for both.
An altercation breaks out between Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan (6) and Inter Miami CF midfielder Yannick Bright (42) in the second half at Subaru Park.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
It looked like Yannick Bright tried to throw a back-handed closed fist in the direction of Cavan Sullivan as the two first came together. Cavan put his two hands into the chest of Bright, making contact with his neck and chin in the process, earning him a red card.
Bright would send a second fist towards Cavan Sullivan, connecting with his face, and earning himself a red card.
As the two went down the tunnel and towards the locker rooms after their early dismissal, Apple TV’s broadcast caught Yannick Bright appearing to chase down Cavan Sullivan from behind, requiring Inter Miami’s staff to hold him back from Sullivan.
After a long delay, the referee blew the full-time whistle, ending it in a 2-2 draw.
MORE: Philly Sports Network's Philadelphia Union Coverage
