Union largely out-play LAFC in Champions League opener, but give up late goal in 1-1 tie

It wasn’t the kind of high-scoring free-for-all that the Union and Los Angeles FC have played often in recent years, but it was another impressive performance by the Union against one of MLS’s biggest and most star-studded teams.

Unfortunately, it once again wasn’t a win. After Dániel Gazdag scored a penalty kick in the 86th minute, Kellyn Acosta equalized in the 90th to force a 1-1 tie.

The series now heads to Los Angeles for Tuesday’s finale (10 p.m., FS1, TUDN), and it’s very up for grabs.

The first 25 minutes were cagey, and for the Union unusually disjointed. Though they kept 58% of the possession, their passing was out of sync on multiple occasions. Their only good early scoring chance came in the eighth minute, when Julián Carranza hit the post from close range – and was offside.

A better highlight came a moment earlier, when Jakob Glesnes crossed over LAFC star striker Dénis Bouanga and drew a big roar from the crowd.

Bouanga had LAFC’s best early chance when he got loose on the left side in the 24th minute and shot well wide of the far post.

On the whole, the Union looked good. LAFC let them have the ball, content to sit back and wait for opportunities to send Bouanga, Carlos Vela and Kwadwo Opoku countering the other way.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin dials down revenge talk for the Union-LAFC series

The crowd of 17,676 fans passed the time by booing Los Angeles goalkeeper John McCarthy, the Northeast Philly native who was the villain against his hometown – and his old team – in last year’s MLS Cup final.

McCarthy seemed to enjoy it, and he earned more ire when he stoned Mikael Uhre on a breakaway in the 40th minute. It was the best chance for either team of the game up to then, and McCarthy did superbly to come off his line and make himself big.

The North Catholic and La Salle alum ended the night with four impressive saves.

Tempers flared in the 43rd after Glesnes slid into Vela attempting to clear a loose ball. Vela stayed down in pain, Union players didn’t believe he was hurt, and both teams got into a shoving match. Referee César Ramos of Mexico didn’t seem too impressed by any of it, but didn’t sanction Glesnes. (And Vela got up easily enough in the end.)

Los Angeles manager Steve Cherundolo made the game’s first substitution, sending in Mateusz Bogusz, a 21-year-old Polish midfielder formerly of England’s Leeds United, for Opoku at halftime.

Carranza forced McCarthy into one of his big saves in the 57th. Gazdag pounced on the rebound and put it in the net, but he was offside by a small margin.

» READ MORE: Even after breaking the Union’s heart, LAFC goalie John McCarthy is the ‘same dude’ from Mayfair

Three minutes later, Vela broke away after a Jack McGlynn whiff. Olivier Mbaizo raced back, bodied him off the ball cleanly, and an annoyed Vela stayed down while Ramos told him to get up.

The Union went down the other way fast, and Uhre got pushed by Aaron Long. Ramos didn’t see the contact from where he was standing, and José Andrés Martinez protested enough to earn a yellow card for dissent.

For as much as McCarthy did with the Union did years ago and has done elsewhere since, there’s a reason why the No. 1 goalkeeper in town hasn’t changed. Andre Blake made a dazzling diving save on a breaking-in Bouanga in the 66th minute, then stopped Bouanga’s second attempt from the end line.

Two minutes later, Blake easily caught an 18-yard shot by a wide-open José Cifuentes.

Vela exited for Stipe Biuk in the 70th. If you haven’t heard of Biuk, you aren’t alone, but you’ll want to know about him. LAFC paid nearly $7 million for the 21-year-old Croatian winger in December, the second highest transfer fee in team history. If Biuk fulfills his potential the team should make that money back in a future sale.

It took until the 78th minute for Union manager Jim Curtin to make any substitutions, and he was forced to make more than one. Quinn Sullivan replaced Uhre by Curtin’s choice, and Leon Flach replaced Martínez out of necessity after the Venezuelan tried to shake off a hamstring issue a few minutes earlier.

Cherundolo made LAFC’s third substitution at the same time, sending in Timothy Tillman -- brother of U.S. men’s national team midfielder Malik Tillman -- for Cifuentes.

» READ MORE: New U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker shows what he knows — and what he doesn’t

The Union players and the crowd howled in the 82nd minute when a McGlynn shot appeared to deflect off one of Acosta’s arms before flying out of bounds. Ramos didn’t call it initially, but the video review crew stopped play and eventually told Ramos to go to the monitor. After doing so, he quickly saw the infraction and whistled for a penalty kick.

Gazdag stepped up to the spot to face McCarthy. The last time he did so, he slipped on the field at LAFC’s BMO Stadium on the Union’s opening kick of the MLS Cup final penalty shootout.

This time, Gazdag made no mistake, blasting the ball in as McCarthy dove the wrong way.

At the start of five minutes of stoppage time, Tillman made the latest of many impacts he’s had in his first year in MLS.

After a Jack Elliot clearance hit Dániel Gazdag in the back, Acosta recovered the ball. A few passes later it came to Tillman, who crossed from the right. Bouanga caught a piece of it, and the ball fell to an onrushing Acosta, who authored a deft finish.

As much as conceding the late goal hurt in the moment, a 1-1 tie in an away goals situation isn’t actually that bad. The Union can advance not only with a win next week, but with a tie by any score greater than 1-1.

» READ MORE: Union owner Jay Sugarman says Jim Curtin’s contract status will be settled before his deal expires