Leon Flach goal amid Werder Bremen transfer rumors helps Union win 4-1 over Inter Miami in MLS

Thanks to a three-goal outburst in the first half, the Union rolled to a 4-1 rout of Inter Miami on Saturday night at Subaru Park.

Jakob Glesnes, Julián Carranza, and Leon Flach scored in the first half, Miami’s Robert Taylor got one back early in the second, and an own goal by David Ruíz finished things off.

Early opener

After going too long without a set piece goal, Glesnes saw to it that the Union (10-5-4, 34 points) now have two in their last three games. In the 14th minute, he made light work of Ruíz to head in a Kai Wagner corner kick.

As good as Glesnes is at getting up for headers, this time he took advantage of a mismatch. Ruíz is an intriguing 19-year-old Honduran-American midfielder, but stands 5-foot-11 and 161 pounds. Glesnes is 6-2 and 185.

Argentine scores in Miami game

This reporter’s picks for story lines to watch in the game went 1-for-2. Brandan Craig didn’t play, but Carranza scored for the first time against the team that brought him to MLS three years ago.

It was Carranza’s 12th goal of the year in all competitions, and among his easiest. Dániel Gazdag hit a cross from the right side that bounced over Miami’s Christopher McVey as Carranza was running at him, and landed right at Mikael Uhre’s feet. Uhre only had to tap the ball a few inches to Carranza for an easy shot.

The fans in the River End celebrated by chanting “Who needs Messi?” at the Herons (5-13-0, 15 points), who looked every bit like what they are before Lionel Messi arrives: the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.

» READ MORE: Rising star Julián Carranza continues to be the Union’s gain and Inter Miami’s loss

Flach gets attention

In the last few days, German TV network Sky Sport and sports newspaper Bild claimed the Bundesliga’s Werder Bremen, the former home of U.S. national team striker Josh Sargent, is interested in Flach.

Bremen presumably wants Flach for his defensive acumen, which is well-known. But if the team’s scouts watched this game, they saw him step up at the attacking end too. In the last seconds of first-half stoppage time, Flach capped a terrific buildup with a rip from the top of the 18-yard box.

Starting with a Wagner throw-in near the center line, the ball moved across and down the field among seven Union players in under 30 seconds. At the end, Gazdag played a beautiful backheel pass to Alejandro Bedoya, who sent the ball back to the top of the 18-yard box for Flach to run toward and smash.

Those reports out of Germany claimed the Union are willing to part with Flach for around $3 million. After this game, maybe it’ll be a bit more. Then again, it was just his third goal in 104 games here.

» READ MORE: Lionel Messi picks Inter Miami, giving Major League Soccer its biggest superstar ever

Miami’s goals

It was unlucky for Glesnes and Joe Bendik that Taylor’s shot in the 50th hit one of Glesnes’ legs and redirected into the net. The official scorer initially ruled it an own goal, but later credited Taylor. That was the right decision, because Taylor’s attempt would have been goal-bound without the deflection.

Miami’s own goal, however, definitely was an own goal. Ruíz slipped while trying to stop an Uhre pass from getting to Carranza in the middle of the box and ended up doing Carranza’s job for him.

In the game’s final minutes, the River End added a second verse to its chant: “Who needs Messi? We’ve got Carranza!”

Wagner hurt

The only other downside to the night was Wagner’s exit at halftime. It wasn’t initially clear why, but when he walked out of the locker room to the Union’s bench early in the second half, he had a bag of ice taped to his upper right leg.

Union manager Jim Curtin’s other substitutions on the night were Jesús Bueno for José Andrés Martínez and Jack McGlynn for Bedoya in the 58th minute; Nathan Harriel for Uhre in the 72nd; and Joaquín Torres for Gazdag in the 89th. The last of those shifted the Union into a 3-5-2 for the rest of the night, with Harriel on the back line and Carranza and Gazdag up top until he left.

Homecoming kings

Union alumni Paxten Aaronson and Mark McKenzie were back home for the evening. They took the field before kickoff for the pregame drum ceremony and got an ovation from the crowd and embraces from Curtin.

Only Aaronson actually banged the drum because McKenzie suffered a shoulder injury in his last game of the season with Belgium’s Genk. Had he not, he might have been in Chicago instead of Chester, playing for the U.S. men’s national team in its Concacaf Gold Cup opener against Andre Blake and Damion Lowe’s Jamaica.

» READ MORE: The USMNT heads into another Gold Cup as reigning champion, but without many stars