In this CONCACAF Champions League match between Deportivo Saprissa and Philadelphia Union held on 21st February 2024, the away team managed to outlast their opponents in a thrilling 2-3 victory.

Deportivo Saprissa was the first to open the scoreboard at 27:04 minutes into the first half, leaving the score at 1-0. Despite this early lead, the home team could not maintain control of the game. Philadelphia Union mounted an impressive comeback in the second half, netting three goals at 54:19, 74:34 and 78:34 minutes respectively, turning the game in their favor at 1-3. Saprissa did manage to pull one back at 89:38 minutes, but it was not enough to salvage the game, with the match ending at 2-3.

The away team's resilience and capacity to capitalise in the second half had a significant impact on this match. Their assertive performance managed to keep the home team on their toes and effectively dominated the second half of the game.

Scrutinizing discipline numbers, Philadelphia Union racked up four yellow cards, a sizable number compared to Saprissa's singular booking. This indicates a defensive aggression from the Union, a strategic approach that kept Saprissa hemmed in, albeit at the cost of multiple bookings.

Turning to set-pieces, Saprissa took eight corner kicks compared to Union's two. Regardless of this significant difference in numbers, Saprissa's performance on the field did not translate to goals scored from these opportunities. Philadelphia Union's offside trap also seemed effective, with one offside to Saprissa's nil. From the data presented, we can infer that Union applied a high backline effectively to restrict Saprissa's goal-scoring opportunities on that end.

The foul count was at a draw, with three apiece, highlighting a balanced aggressive play from both teams. Despite Saprissa having more possession (indirectly inferred from the higher number of corners), they could only score two goals in contrast to Union's three. This shows that Philadelphia Union was more efficient with their ball use.

In conclusion, despite Deportivo Saprissa's promising start, Philadelphia Union's effective second-half strategy and resistance proved to be the deciding factors in this 2-3 victory. The home team will need to reassess their tactics moving forward, particularly in exploiting set pieces and managing game momentum, to avoid similar outcomes in future matches. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Union's aggressive strategy proved beneficial, but they need to be cautious about accumulative disciplinary actions.

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