Union roll to 4-0 Champions League win over Alianza, advance to quarterfinals

The Union eased past El Salvador’s Alianza in the home game of their Concacaf Champions League round of 16 series, 4-0, on Tuesday at Subaru Park.

While the crowd wasn’t big on a frigid night in Chester, the atmosphere was lively, between the Union supporters’ clubs in the River End and a big batch of Alianza fans a few sections over. It was no surprise to see them, since there are big Salvadoran expat populations in the D.C. and New York areas.

They watched Damion Lowe open the scoring just before halftime, Dániel Gazdag settle the series with a penalty kick in the 62nd minute, and Andrés Perea capped things off with goals in the 81st and 84th.

The win advanced the Union to the Champions League quarterfinals, 4-0 on aggregate after a scoreless tie in El Salvador last week.

Gazdag was felled by Alianza goalkeeper Marion Gonzalez breaking in one-on-one in the sixth minute. Referee Bryan López of Guatemala didn’t call it, and the Union were understandably upset. But replays showed that while there was some contact, Gazdag might have made a little too much of it for his own good.

» READ MORE: Andre Blake’s groin injury is less serious than feared, a source says

In the 23rd, Gazdag was in the right place to receive a redirected corner kick and redirect it in the net. But he was offside, and was correctly flagged for it.

The Union were clearly the better team in the first half, with eight shots to Alianza’s one. But there was little end product.

Things got better when Alianza left back Alexis Montes was ejected for earning his second yellow card of the game in the 41st minute. And he did earn it, taking down Nathan Harriel with a football-esque tackle from behind.

Four minutes later, the Union broke through. Kai Wagner put a corner kick in the right place for Lowe to go up and get it, and he placed a header to the far post.

Gazdag nearly made it 2-0 off another corner kick sequence early in the second half, but he was rightly called offside on a video review. The second goal finally came in the 62nd minute, Gazdag converting from the spot after a video review caught a handball by Alianza’s William Canales.

Perea’s first goal was lovely. Jack McGlynn sprung Quinn Sullivan down the left flank, Sullivan hit a sweeping cross-field pass, and Perea slotted it perfectly to the far post.

The second goal was easier: he was unmarked just off the goal line when Mikael Uhre found him off a cutback and setup pass. But it was another reminder of the value the 22-year-old Colombian-American brings this team.

» READ MORE: Andrés Perea shows the Union’s depth and street smarts in the Champions League

The game saw the first centerback pairing of Lowe and Jakob Glesnses. While a Lowe-Jack Elliott pair would never be surprising because Lowe can be the presser of the two, here was a duo where both starters aren’t afraid to move up the field.

Of course, both Lowe and Glesnes have plenty of experience in MLS and around the world. So they figured it out easily enough.

The other lineup swaps saw Joaquín Torres start at forward with Julián Carranza, instead of Uhre; McGlynn for Leon Flach in central midfield; and Harriel for Olivier Mbaizo at right back.

Goalkeeper Joe Bendik was technically a new starter too, but because of Andre Blake’s groin injury instead of manager Jim Curtin’s choice.

Torres was withdrawn in the 65th as part of a rarely-seen triple substitution by Curtin. Uhre replaced Torres, Jesús Bueno replaced José Andrés Martínez, and Perea replaced Alejandro Bedoya.

» READ MORE: How to watch the Union's regular-season games in the new Apple MLS Season Pass streaming package

Don’t be surprised if Perea starts Saturday’s visit to CF Montréal (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled), the end of a stretch of five games in 15 days. Elliott, Uhre, and Flach are obvious starter candidates too, and Mbaizo should start as well.

The Union will face Mexico’s Atlas in the Champions League quarterfinals after the Guadalajara club beat Honduras’ Olimpia, 5-4 on aggregate. After Olimpia won the first game of the series 4-1 at home, Atlas stormed back in its home game with a 4-0 rout. Julio Quiñones scored the first and last goals of the night, and assisted on the second.

The Union will host the first game of the quarterfinal series on April 4 or 5, then play the road game on April 11 or 12.