When Philadelphia Union were pushing for a comeback on Saturday against Toronto FC, head coach Jim Curtin added striker Sergio Santos to his eleven and made the somewhat surprising decision to pull defender Ray Gaddis. Including last season's playoff match against NYCFC, this marked the second straight time Curtin had adapted his shape to the scoreline and showed a Union side willing to send attackers forward in pursuit of a result.
Describing the Union's shape during the final portion of last Saturday's match as a back three is too simplistic, though. At times, a back three actually means a back five, with the two wide defenders returning with discipline to create a long band of teammates with fairly equal spacing between them.