Union Takeaways: Julián Carranza’s hot streak continues, and so does his team’s

Here are our takeaways on the Union’s 3-0 win over CF Montreal on Saturday at Subaru Park, which extended their unbeaten run in MLS games to nine.

Julián Carranza. Every goal he scores makes the Union’s acquisition of him even more of one of the great heists in MLS history. Now he has 11 this year, including five in the last four games.

He fired off nine shots in this game, and two went in the net: a superb curling strike for the opening goal, and a twice-deflected hit from 18 yards for the finale. He should have clinched a hat trick with an open shot a few minutes later, but hit it over the crossbar.

“Divine from Philadelphia Union’s Argentine,” Apple TV’s Callum Williams said as he called the first goal.

» READ MORE: Julián Carranza leads the Union’s 3-0 rout of CF Montreal

It wasn’t just the shots, though, that made Carranza stand out. On the defensive end, he had three recoveries, two interceptions and one tackle, and won 12 of the 20 duels he contested.

Honorable mention goes to Jesús Bueno, because he had a great game in what was just his second MLS start. Lined up next to Leon Flach at the base of the Union’s central midfield triangle, he completed 20 of 25 passes (including five into the final third) and had six defensive recoveries, two tackles, two interceptions, one clearance, and five duels won out of six contested.

Bueno did all that in just 63 minutes on the field before being subbed off for José Andrés Martínez. And he almost certainly will start for Martínez in the Union’s next game, because Martínez will be suspended because of yellow card accumulation. He drew a needless booking for a retaliatory shove on Montreal’s Matko Miljevic.

» READ MORE: The Union’s José Andrés Martínez gets a multi-year contract extension

5: The number of shots taken by Nathan Harriel, who started at right wingback in the Union’s 3-5-2 setup. Harriel rarely contributes to the attack all that much when he plays right back in the usual 4-4-2, but he had the license to get forward with Jakob Glesnes behind him.

6: The number of clearances by Jack Elliott. Though the Union dominated the game, Montreal didn’t totally lack for chances. Elliott also had five defensive recoveries, two interceptions, and one block, and won five of the six duels he contested.

» READ MORE: The Union’s Nathan Harriel played with new USMNT star Folarin Balogun, and remembers it well

“When I was younger, I was a winger. But today, I was a little bit higher up the field, so I just wanted to let some shots rip. Hopefully one [would have] got in. But it didn’t work out tonight.”

— Harriel on his unusually high number of shots.

“It was always the same mentality since we started the year. At the beginning, we had so many games, and we couldn’t get the results that we wanted. But now, everything is getting better. We are winning every single game. The confidence is still the same as the beginning of the year. And then we keep winning, and that’s the important thing: that we keep with the same mentality.”

— Carranza on the Union’s hot streak.

“He’s a starting-caliber player on a heck of a lot of teams in this league. He just happens to have some good pieces in front of him. But our staff is trusting him more and more. He trains his butt off every day, is a true professional, and I thought was was excellent tonight, did a great job.”

— Union manager Jim Curtin on Bueno’s performance.

» READ MORE: As Andre Blake’s Gold Cup departure looms, his role in the Union’s unbeaten streak shouldn’t be overlooked

Nashville SC 2, FC Dallas 1. Had Nashville dropped points in this game, the Union (9-4-3, 30 points) would have moved up to second place in the Eastern Conference. And for 50 minutes, it looked like that might happen.

But reigning MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar struck a great winner in the 77th minute, after Nolan Norris’ own goal in the ninth minute and Jader Obrian’s equalizer in the 25th.

The Union will reunite with former fan favorite Jamiro Monteiro when they visit the San Jose Earthquakes this Saturday (10:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled). San Jose is coming off a scoreless tie at the Colorado Rapids, and is fifth in the Western Conference with a 6-5-5 record (23 points).

Olivier Mbaizo won’t play for the Union because he’ll be away with Cameroon’s national team, which plays Mexico that night in San Diego. It’s one of two games El Tri will play as warmups for the Concacaf Nations League semifinal clash with the United States in Las Vegas, and the Gold Cup that kicks off six days after the Nations League final.

After the Union-San Jose game, Andre Blake and Damion Lowe will depart for Jamaica’s Gold Cup squad. The Reggae Boyz will have a training camp in Austria before opening the tournament against the U.S. on June 24 in Chicago.

» READ MORE: Folarin Balogun, Medford’s Brenden Aaronson highlight USMNT roster for Nations League