Philadelphia Union Film Room: Mikael Uhre Makes Impact Without Scoring in Season Opener
Mikael Uhre did not score in the Philadelphia Union's season opener, but he still found a way to make an impact.
Mikael Uhre did not register a goal or assist in the Philadelphia Union’s season-opening win over the Columbus Crew.
We usually judge strikers solely on goals and assists, and that will be the case over a 34-game Major League Soccer season.
However, if you look deeper into the film and data, Uhre had a productive Week 1 by doing all of the little things right.
In the Union’s 4-4-2 diamond system, the striker is asked to do way more than just score goals and record assists, which is why Uhre’s overall performance can be graded as a positive.
The Danish forward was the only player on the Union roster to win multiple tackles against the Crew. He was the only forward in MLS to have three or more tackles won on the opening matchday, per FBRef.
“(Uhre) did a good job helping us with our pressure,” Union manager Jim Curtin said in his weekly press conference on Wednesday. “Him and Julian really set the tone and that front line. We talked at halftime about even giving us more back pressure that when we clear balls they are in a good position to pick up second balls and start our attack.”
Uhre’s heat map (right to left) and touch map (left to right), per WhoScored, shows that most of his activity came away from the final third.
Uhre played a starting role in the Union’s attack, and not the finishing ones that Julian Carranza and Daniel Gazdag featured in on Saturday.
For example, one of Uhre’s deepest touches in his own half came in the 32nd minute, when he got in front of a defender and earned a free-kick. The free-kick victory came at a key time since the Union faced pressure in the box in the minute beforehand. Uhre connected to a Jack Elliott clearance, won the foul and ended that specific push from the Crew.
When he got into the final third, Uhre’s runs were crisp and he put his teammates in good positions. The runs got better as the game went on.
In the 35th minute, Uhre dragged two defenders with him into the box and that opened up space for Gazdag to take a shot on target.
Fifteen minutes earlier, Uhre tried to make a run off the back of a defender, but was flagged for being a few inches offside.
The Union had some trouble with their timing of the Crew’s back line in the opening stages of the match. There were countless offsides offenses, but they figured that out as the match went on.
Uhre was not involved in any of the three second-half goals, but look at the way he positioned himself on Carranza’s first tally.
Once Gazdag received the ball from Jose Martinez, Uhre (top) positioned himself at the back of a defender and bolted toward the back post.
When Alejandro Bedoya played his pass to Carranza, who finished the goal to put the Union up 2-1, Uhre was in perfect position for tap in if the ball went past Carranza.
The defender who tracked Uhre closed down on Carranza, and if the ball trickled past the Argentinian, Uhre would have been there to knock the ball in.
There were a few other instances throughout the match in which Uhre did little things to set up attempts.
Uhre got on the ball on recycled set pieces in the 10th and 25th minutes. He chested the ball down in the first sequence and attempted a shot that was blocked.
On the next one, the Danish forward nodded down a ball that landed at Carranza’s feet. That shot was blocked as well.
“If I have to do the dirty running in one game and then Julian can score two goals, that’s great because I know in the long term of the season it’s going to be divided,” Uhre said on Wednesday.
“Last season, some days it was Daniel and Julian, maybe it’s me and Dani or Julian and me. It’s different. I don’t really care who scores the goals. I just want to win. If that involves doing a lot of dirty work, I’m up for it.”
Curtin mentioned on Wednesday that he wants Uhre to get on the ball more, and if he is already in the right spots, he should see that number increase.
“One thing I’ll talk with Mikael about is getting more touches in the run of play,” Curtin said. “We want to see that number increase. Like any striker, the more he is on the ball, the more dangerous he is. I thought he had some good opportunities for us. He started very well defensively and that led to some good attacking moments.”
After reading all of this, some of you will probably say Uhre will be judged solely on how many goals he scores in 2023, because, well, he’s a striker.
To answer that, yes you are absolutely right. But it’s not like Uhre didn’t try to put himself in spots to help the team on Saturday.
He is making the right runs and doing the required work on defense. If those things continue, which we have no reason to believe they won’t, Uhre should find himself on the score sheet sooner rather than later.
Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union.