Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin credited Brentford FC after making a tactical change in their 1-0 victory over Charlotte FC.
The Philadelphia Union, who are third in the Eastern Conference with 27 points, picked up their third straight win and fourth win in the last five games Wednesday night as Curtin opted for a change of formation that ended up working in the Union's favor.
Despite the narrow victory for Curtin's men, he had no complaints about the performance.
"I think you guys have heard me say I love 1-0 wins, and that's a good team win from the group."
Philadelphia has traditionally lined up in a 4-4-2 formation. But Curtin's change to a 3-5-2 formation, that has been used already on several occasions this season, was inspired by Thomas Frank's Brentford, who just finished ninth in the Premier League.
"Look, we all want to be like Man City, right? ... Pep [Guardiola]'s almost made it this fake thing for people to chase, because it's impossible to do what they do. So I watch teams like Brentford, and I watch what Brentford does," Curtin said.
"And when they play at home, they (Brentford) play a certain way similar to how we play: 4-4-2 diamond, where we go and we get after the game, and we high press against certain teams.
"When they go on the road, and they play against the top six teams, if you look at it, they play in the back five. They're a little more stable, they take a little less risk, but they also get points against the top teams. So I'm not saying we're a lower team, but I also know that we're a team that that’s something we can go to."
Many have drawn comparisons between Philadelphia and Brentford for their strong defensive manner and their under-the-radar performances that has seen them knock off the largest names in their respective leagues. Both clubs don't have star-studded squads, but they are difficult to play against.
Curtin explained that his side is able to play with three center-backs effectively because he has three defenders (Jack Elliot, Damion Lowe and Jakob Glesnes) that can defend the wide areas of the field and keep up with the league's best forwards.
"We have three center backs that I'll put one-on-one against any group of attackers, and we can just let them be, which is, I'll just say, a luxury a lot of teams don't have."
The Union look to win their fourth consecutive game when they host CF Montreal on Saturday night.
This article was originally published on 90min as Jim Curtin inspired by Premier League club after win over Charlotte .
