CHESTER — For some with the Philadelphia Union, the message was not needed. But for others, Alejandro Bedoya obliged.

The MLS Cup playoffs are a different animal, the team captain and stalwart midfielder warned during film study Friday.

He did so before a room that is in this position precisely because of the need to hear that message, of veterans who’ve been part of past playoff triumphs and new faces that injected life into 2025’s Supporters’ Shield campaign.

That trophy has ceased to be an end unto itself and become a means to a larger goal.

The Union will have to leave Subaru Park just once this postseason as long as they keep winning. The journey starts Sunday evening when the top seed in the Eastern Conference hosts No. 8 Chicago (5:30 p.m., Apple TV/FS1) for the first leg in a b

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