Mikael Uhre had been one of the more quieter pieces in the Philadelphia Union’s attack this season, but Saturday’s Man of the Match performance comes at a crucial time for Uhre and the club.
Uhre registered a hat trick in the Union’s 4-2 home victory over Toronto FC, giving the Danish international his first MLS hat trick. The 28-year-old needed only 61 minutes to complete his perfect performance, giving the Union attack added confidence ahead of this week’s CONCACAF Champions League semifinal first leg vs. Los Angeles FC.
Uhre extended the Union’s lead to 2-0 in the 20th minute, picking up a pass from Alejandro Bedoya in the box before slotting home his first tally of the night. The veteran forward added his second goal of the match in the 43rd minute, rifling Daniel Gazdag’s through ball pass into the bottom-left corner of Sean Johnson’s net.
Uhre delivered his third and final goal in the 56th minute, this time receiving a pass from Julian Carranza before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner. Uhre was replaced in the 61st minute with head coach Jim Curtin giving some of his stars rest ahead of the busy midweek affair from Chester.
The home victory also boosted the Union into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Here is a closer look at this week’s Best of MLS:
Team of the Week
New York City FC picked up its most impressive win of 2023 to date, rolling past FC Dallas by a 3-1 scoreline and earning SBI Best of MLS Team of the Week honors.
Nick Cushing’s dynamic attack was on display at Citi Field with Santiago Rodriguez scoring twice and Talles Magno also adding his third league goal of the campaign. Rodriguez scored twice in a six-minute span across both halves before Magno’s close-range finish in the 55th minute gave NYCFC a 3-0 advantage.
Although FC Dallas earned a late consolation goal, NYCFC extended its unbeaten run to four matches.
Charlotte FC, LA Galaxy, and D.C. United finished the week as finalists for the honor.
Goal of the Week
Toronto FC did not come out of Chester with three points, but Lorenzo Insigne did celebrate his first goal of 2023 in style.
Insigne’s curling right-footed finish past a diving Andre Blake earned this week’s Goal of the Week honors despite TFC’s 4-2 road loss to the Philadelphia Union. Poor defending from the Union allowed Insigne to sneak past them before drilling a one-timed finish into the far corner of Blake’s net.
Despite Blake’s best efforts, the Italian international ended the Union’s clean sheet hopes and walked away with a confidence boost going forward this spring.