Union takeaways: If you thought that Nashville draw was boring, you aren’t alone

Here are our takeaways on the Union’s scoreless tie with Nashville SC on Saturday, a result that cost the Union (15-8-10, 55 points) its chance at finishing second in the Eastern Conference.

The Union remained in third place thanks to fourth-place Columbus giving up a 97th-minute equalizer at Atlanta. But the lead there is just one point. Fifth-place New England can overtake both teams by winning at Nashville on Saturday, then at home against the Union in the regular-season finale on Oct. 21.

» READ MORE: Union unable to break down stingy Nashville defense in 0-0 tie

Damion Lowe. Nashville is renowned for having Major League Soccer’s stingiest defense, with just 29 goals conceded in 32 regular-season games so far this year. But it’s known even more for having reigning MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar, and he’s having another outstanding season: 17 goals and 14 assists in 39 games across all competitions.

Mukhtar did very little in this game, and Lowe was a big reason why. The veteran centerback totaled nine defensive recoveries, four tackles, four clearances, and nine duels won from 15 contested. Quite a few of those plays came in one-on-one situations with Mukhtar, including some chasings-down from behind.

Though Mukhtar registered 58 touches, he had just one shot, two scoring chances created, and 23-for-26 passing.

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6: The number of the Union’s 14 total shots that were blocked by Nashville’s defense. That helps explain why even though the Union had a reasonable number of attempts, their expected-goals sum was just 0.49.

10: The number of defensive recoveries by Jack McGlynn.

Honorable mention goes to the number of yellow cards earned by José Andrés Martínez. His elbow swung backward into Dax McCarty’s face might not have been intentional, but it was clear to everyone who saw it. The booking earned Martínez his third suspension for yellow-card accumulation of the year, meaning he’ll miss the regular-reason finale.

» READ MORE: Union midfielder Dániel Gazdag has all but perfected the penalty kick. We asked him his secret.

“The best attackers were on the field at the end of the game. And that’s the guys that are going to take us to another MLS Cup run, or it’s going to be hard.”

— Union manager Jim Curtin defends making only one attacking substitution in the game.

“I said it to Fafà [Picault, of Nashville and formerly the Union]: ‘Hey, we’re probably going to see each other again sometime soon, you know.’ So this was like a dress rehearsal.”

— Lowe on the possibility of the Union and Nashville meeting in the playoffs in a few weeks.

“We have a lot of history with Philly, especially in the playoffs — always seem to have close games. So it’d be a fun game to be a part of if that’s what happens. ... We’ve been to PKs before with them, so we’ll see if it needs to go there again.”

— Nashville SC centerback Walker Zimmerman, well-known to Union fans for not just his club play, but his stalwart role with the U.S. men’s national team.

» READ MORE: Former Union broadcaster Danny Higginbotham remains a familiar voice with Apple TV

FC Cincinnati 1, Inter Miami 0. Alas for Miami — and MLS headquarters, Apple, Fox, adidas, and anyone else with money at stake — Lionel Messi is not going to the playoffs this year. Though Messi returned from a four-game injury absence as a 55th-minute substitute, that wasn’t enough for the Herons to find a goal.

Álvaro Barreal scored for Cincinnati in the 78th minute, and the Supporters’ Shield winners flew home from Fort Lauderdale with their 20th win of the season.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin hopes the Union can somehow find a way to keep Kai Wagner

A FIFA national team window starts later this week, so MLS will mostly be dark next weekend. The three games that will be played were all rescheduled from earlier in the year, either because of weather or the Leagues Cup.

One of the games, New England-Nashville, is of great consequence for the Union. If New England loses, that will go a long way (though not all the way) toward the Union securing home-field advantage in the best-of-three first round of the playoffs.

Though the Union don’t play again until the 21st, there’s a notable soccer game in town before then: a Mexico-Germany men’s national team friendly at Lincoln Financial Field on the 17th. As of a few days ago, more than 40,000 tickets had been sold here, according to the game’s organizers. Three days earlier, Germany plays the U.S. in East Hartford, Conn.

» READ MORE: Gio Reyna returns to the USMNT for big October games vs. Germany and Ghana