Union takeaways: 19 games into the season, Dániel Gazdag finally gets his first goal from open play

Here are our day-after observations on the Union’s 3-0 rout of the New England Revolution on Saturday night at Subaru Park, a result Union manager Jim Curtin called “probably our best win of the season, our most complete win.”

Dániel Gazdag. All three of the midfielders in the Union’s 3-4-1-2 setup are worthy nominees. Leon Flach had one of his best two-way games with the team, and José Andrés Martínez’s first start after an injury absence showed yet again why he’s so great.

But this time, the simplest answer is the best one. Gadzag finally scored his first goal of the year from open play 19 games into the season, added yet another penalty kick goal, and did a good bit more than that. A player who has been too pass-first for his own good at times this year took four shots.

His 23-of-30 passing performance wasn’t great percentage-wise, but he made a significant impact with two scoring chances created and five passes into the attacking third.

Though he didn’t do as much defensively as he sometimes does, he didn’t have to in this game with Flach and Martínez working behind him.

» READ MORE: Dániel Gazdag and Julián Carranza lead the Union to a 3-0 rout of New England

7: The Union’s total shots on goal in the game. If this stops being a theme, it will undoubtedly be to the team’s benefit.

10: The number of defensive recoveries by Olivier Mbaizo, edging Martínez’s nine to win the honor here. Mbaizo also had four clearances, three interceptions and two tackles, and completed 35 of 41 passes going the other way.

“I’m really happy that I can score my PKs as well, but obviously, it’s a good feeling that I scored from open play again.”

— Gazdag on finally scoring his first goal from open play of the year.

“That one would just be instinct. It’s just thinking on your feet when you get the chance. It’s just like a normal chance — if you’re quick on the feet, sometimes you can catch the opposition off guard, and that’s what we did in that sequence.”

— Mikael Uhre on his quick throw-in to Gazdag for the game’s first goal.

“Thirty yards and in, we’re not Man City, we’re not Arsenal. We’re not going to pass 65 times in that area and score a goal. So, shoot.”

— Union manager Jim Curtin, referring to the top two teams in England’s Premier League and instructions he gave his team to get the ball toward the net more.

» READ MORE: The Union’s three Designated Players all got raises this year

D.C. United 3, Los Angeles Galaxy 0. In Major League Soccer’s early years, this was the biggest clash on the calendar — including as the title-game matchup in two of the league’s first four seasons. Now it’s another sign of how far MLS’s most decorated team has fallen.

The five-time champion Galaxy are a league-worst 2-8-3 (9 points) this year, despite having star attackers in Javier Hernández and Riqui Puig.

United has been bad for a long time too. The four-time champs last put a star on their jerseys 19 years ago, and its last trophy was the 2013 U.S. Open Cup. But as Union fans saw last Wednesday at Subaru Park, the Black and Red have improved with better talent and Wayne Rooney’s coaching. This game was more proof.

Christian Benteke, Cristian Dájome, and Mateusz Klich scored the goals, all in a 10-minute stretch of the late second half.

» READ MORE: The top 10 Major League Soccer stadiums to visit

The Union finally have a midweek without a game, albeit because they went out of the Open Cup at their first opportunity. They next play Saturday against New York City FC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV), this time at the Mets’ Citi Field instead of Yankee Stadium because of schedule conflicts in the Bronx.

In a few years, NYCFC will make Queens its permanent home with a new stadium that will be built next to Citi Field. If all goes according to plan, it will open in 2027. But for now, they still have to call baseball stadiums home.