Union Takeaways: Julián Carranza shows again that he’s a big-time player

Here are our day-after takeaways from the Union’s 2-2 tie at Mexico’s Atlas on Wednesday. The result sent the team into its second Concacaf Champions League semifinal in three years — and a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup title game against Los Angeles FC.

Julián Carranza. It took the Union until their 13th year of existence to sign two big-time strikers in one offseason, the winter of 2022. Carranza and Mikael Uhre have proven their worth plenty often since then, and this game should serve as further proof.

Yes, Uhre had the awful shank in the first half and the miscommunication with Carranza in the second. But the point to illustrate here is the importance of the Union signing two big-time strikers at once. Any MLS team can sign one in a given year. Signing two means that if one falters, there’s another one who can deliver.

And oh, how Carranza delivered. His two strikes were impeccable finishes, and the timing of his runs was perfect. In fact, they were so good that the assistant referees thought he was offside on both of them, only for the video review crew to send word that he was on.

Carranza didn’t just contribute with goals. He had five defensive recoveries and one clearance, and won seven duels. That he contested 19 duels makes for a low percentage of wins, but 19 duels contested is a big number.

» READ MORE: Julián Carranza’s two goals fire the Union into the Champions League semifinals

5: The Union’s shots on target. Though they were outshot on the whole, 23-10, the shots-on-target margin was just 6-5 for Atlas. That means the Union put half their shots on frame, and two of them went in.

7: Jack Elliott’s number of clearances. Four of them were headed. He also had four defensive recoveries, two blocks, and won six of the eight duels he contested.

2: The number of times the Union have been in the Champions League, and they’ve reached the semifinals in both. That’s pretty remarkable.

“Keeping that zero at home was huge, and then to score two goals on the road in Mexico — I can tell you as a coach, I did not expect that. I thought maybe one would be nice, but to score two, my players even surprised me.”

— Union manager Jim Curtin.

“These games are very high intensity, and they cost you points in the league, which is difficult. But at the end of the day, I’ll sign up to play in these types of games, to learn about your group, over anything.”

— Curtin on the bigger picture. The Union will end up playing seven games in April and nine or 10 in May, depending on whether they advance to the Champions League final.

The Union visit the Chicago Fire on Saturday (8:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled). The Champions League semifinal series against LAFC will kick off at Subaru Park on Wednesday, April 26 at 9 p.m., and conclude in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 2 at 10 p.m.

» READ MORE: Jack McGlynn seized his chance to shine against Atlas in the first game of the series