Wow. Just wow.

A three week break clearly did the Vancouver Whitecaps no harm, as they blew away Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union 7-0 with an absolutely spectacular showing.

It was a scintillating display from minute one to the final whistle. Vancouver looked polished going forward and defensively, and they were clinical when they had their chances.

After relying on the last gasp drama of Thomas Müller’s match winning late penalty against St. Louis, Jesper Sørensen elected to make 2 changes to his attack. One was enforced as Daniel Rios came in for the injured Brian White up front, while Jayden Nelson was dropped to the bench in favour of Ali Ahmed, who impressed on the CANMNT’s European tour over the international break.

It was Thomas Müller’s birthday, so it was fitting that the first notable action of the game was when the referee decided to present him with a birthday card in the 8^th minute, a yellow for delaying the restart from a Philadelphia freekick.

However, the changes were looking like they were going to pay dividends when Vancouver started the clash brightly. Ali Ahmed, Emmanuel Sabbi and Edier Ocampo were tormenting Philadelphia’s wings, wreaking havoc on the rotational fullback pairing of Alejandro Bedoya and Franis Westfield.

The first chance of the game fell the Whitecaps’ way, as a brilliant ball across the face of the box found Daniel Rios. However, with the goal at his mercy the Mexican inexplicably failed to make contact with the ball, spurning a golden opportunity to hand his side the lead.

That miss mattered little, as Vancouver did not make the expectant crowd at BC Place wait long for the opening goal of the game.

A sensational delivery from Sebastian Berhalter (I mean at this point are we surprised) found the head of Matthias Laborda, who nodded the ball into the back of the net to hand his team the lead.

Minutes later, the advantage was doubled. Some sensational dribbling from Ali Ahmed saw him slip past two Union defenders, and his pass into the box perfectly picked out Emmanuel Sabbi. The American lashed an unstoppable strike from the penalty spot into the roof of the net, putting the Whitecaps firmly in control of proceedings.

And two very quickly became three, as Vancouver continued to push forward. A handball from yet another superb set piece handed the Whitecaps a penalty, offering Müller the opportunity to score again from 12 yards. The experienced German duly converted, sending the Whitecaps support into dreamland.

On their first foray forwards of the evening, Philadelphia thought they had a goal back after Michael Uhre tapped the ball home from Bedoya’s pullback. However, the fullback was ruled offside in the buildup, meaning Vancouver maintained their cushion.

The Whitecaps weren’t satisfied there, as another driving run from Ali Ahmed saw him hacked down in the penalty area by Bedoya, who was unable to handle the Vancouver winger all evening. Müller yet again slot the ball beyond Andrew Rick, emphatically ending a rampant first half.

The Whitecaps’ dominance of the first half can perhaps be better summarised through statistics than any words I could come up with. This was the first time that Vancouver had scored four goals in the first half of any game through their MLS era. They controlled possession 66-34, and they outs-hot their visitors 8-3 with an xG of 3.1 – 0.2.

Such was the dominance, that Union head coach Bradley Carnell made three changes before the half time whistle, despite his side having a crucial US Open Cup semi-final in midweek, in a bid to prevent the scoreline getting worse ahead of the interval. It truly was a ruthless display.

Although Philadelphia rallied slightly after the break, it wasn’t long before the one-way traffic continued. This time Müller turned provider, as his deft ball found Emmanuel Sabbi in acres of space. The winger finished with aplomb, curling the ball into the top right corner to make the score Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 Philadelphia Union.

Having just signed his first professional deal for the club in the week, homegrown striker Rayan Elloumi was substituted on for his home MLS debut to a rapturous reception. The young forward had made a name for himself by scoring goals in the MLS Next Pro, and he got in on the act in the 80^th minute by nodding home after yet another set piece routine.

That goal meant that tonight was the first time that Vancouver had scored six in a game in the MLS era.

And six became seven, as Thomas Müller nodded the ball into the back of the net to complete his hat-trick and finalise the scoring in what truly can only be described as a rout.

Philadelphia may have rotated their side, potentially viewing this long-distance clash as an opportunity to rest some key players ahead of their run in. However, this should take nothing away from Vancouver, who produced an absolutely dominant display and were thoroughly deserving of this scoreline.

After this victory, the Whitecaps head into their crucial midweek Canadian Champions Cup semi-final clash.