Tai Baribo Burns Former Club as D.C. United Edge 10-Man Philadelphia Union 1-0

Of all the opponents Tai Baribo could have faced on his D.C. United debut, the schedule makers handed him the club that sold him. The Israeli striker spent last season as the Philadelphia Union's leading scorer. On Saturday night at Audi Field, he made his old employer pay.

Baribo finished off a rapid counterattack in the 23rd minute, and D.C. United beat Philadelphia 1-0 in the season opener for both clubs, in front of 18,003 fans. The Union, the reigning Supporters' Shield winners per MLS, played the final half hour a man down after Ezekiel Alladoh was sent off on his MLS debut. They pushed, they piled up blocked shots, and they went home with nothing.

The Counter That Decided It

The opening 20 minutes were cagey. Lucas Bartlett fired wide from a D.C. set piece in the sixth minute, and then Milan Iloski started threatening for Philadelphia. He sent one high and wide in the 21st, then forced Sean Johnson into a save from a tight angle on the left in the 22nd, winning a corner.

Baribo already had a goal taken off the board for offside early on, according to both the AP and the Union. His second try counted. A minute after Iloski's chance, D.C. broke the other way. The Union's own recap said Gabriel Pirani outmuscled Finn Sundstrom, letting João Peglow take possession and create a two-on-one with Baribo against Olwethu Makhanya. Peglow slipped the ball to Baribo, and the striker placed a right-footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom right corner as Andre Blake came out. 1-0.

"As a striker, you have to be decisive," D.C. head coach René Weiler said. "He scored the goal, it was the decisive goal, so he did his job."

Iloski kept carrying the fight for Philadelphia, and Johnson saved his curling free kick from distance in the 38th. Makhanya and Jesús Bueno were both booked before the break, and Baribo nearly doubled the lead right on 45 minutes when his right-footed shot from a Jackson Hopkins set piece hit the right post.

The Turning Point: Alladoh's Red

Bradley Carnell went to his bench at halftime, sending on Geiner Martínez for Sundstrom, and the Union came out with intent. Alladoh found Iloski on a fast break in the 54th minute, but Iloski's shot from the left side of the box went just over.

Then came the moment that tilted everything. In the 58th minute, Alladoh, a 20-year-old forward making his MLS debut, was shown a straight red card, per the AP. With a man advantage and a lead, D.C. could sit in and dare the visitors to break them down.

Philadelphia tried. Iloski had a shot blocked in the 64th, and Augustín Anello, on for Bueno in the 57th, had two more blocked in the 65th. At the other end, Baribo nearly made it 2-0 on the counter in the 65th, missing narrowly to the right after another Peglow pass. Cavan Sullivan, the club's 16-year-old Homegrown per the Union, replaced Iloski in the 70th and nearly made an instant impact, swinging in a corner that Nathan Harriel headed just wide from the left side of the six-yard box in the 72nd.

D.C. gave Louis Munteanu his MLS debut in the 70th, and the AP said the 23-year-old Romanian international arrived in January for a club-record transfer fee of $7 million-plus. He had two shots, both wide. The Union kept coming, with Bruno Damiani blocked in the 76th and Johnson saving an Anello strike from distance in the 77th, but the equalizer never arrived. Baribo left in stoppage time with an injury, replaced by Sean Nealis.

Star Watch

Tai Baribo had three shots, one goal and a post. MLS noted he scored 19 goals across all competitions for Philadelphia last season and produced 35 goals and six assists in 67 appearances for the Union before D.C. paid up to $4.6 million to acquire him. He insisted the goal was not about revenge.

"I celebrate, first of all, not because it's against Philly," Baribo said. "I celebrate my own fans. For me, every goal is important. It's not easy to score goals."

João Peglow created the winner and the best of D.C.'s other chances, pairing his assist with a willingness to break forward at speed.

Sean Johnson, making his D.C. United debut, made the key stops on Iloski and Anello. The AP noted the 36-year-old entered the game with 431 career MLS starts across 16 seasons.

Milan Iloski led Philadelphia with five shots, two on target, and was the Union's most dangerous player until he came off.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Philadelphia 12 with 3 on target; D.C. United 7 with 1 on target.
• Blocked shots: Philadelphia had 6 attempts blocked; D.C. United had 1.
• Possession: Philadelphia 51.4 percent, D.C. United 48.6 percent.
• Corners: Philadelphia 5, D.C. United 1.
• Cards: Philadelphia 4 yellows and 1 red; D.C. United 2 yellows.

What It Means

D.C. United opens at 1-0-0 with 3 points and visits Austin FC on Sunday, March 1. MLS called it an upset, and context explains why: the league noted D.C. finished last in MLS in 2025 with 26 points and five wins, while the AP said Philadelphia swept the 2025 regular-season series, winning 3-0 at home in April and 6-0 on the road in September. Baribo's goal flips that script, at least for one night.

"I'm focused on me, I'm focused on D.C. United and how to get this club better every game and to put this club where they deserve on the table," Baribo said.

Philadelphia starts at 0-0-1 with 0 points after playing its second road match in four nights, per the club. The Union fielded a string of debutants, including Japhet Sery Larsen, Sundstrom, Alladoh and Martínez, and next hosts Defence Force F.C. in the second leg of a Concacaf Champions Cup Round One tie at Subaru Park.

Closing Take

Every breakup gets a rebound story, and this one wrote itself. Philadelphia let Baribo walk for cash; he walked straight back into its path and finished one perfect counter. The Union will be fine. D.C., for one night at least, got to feel like the team with the upgrade.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by mlssoccer.com; additional reporting from the AP via ESPN and the Philadelphia Union (philadelphiaunion.com).