If this was Kai Wagner’s last Union home game, he went out with a bang

It had finally gotten to the point where many Union fans were as tired of talking about Kai Wagner’s expiring contract as Ernst Tanner, Jim Curtin, and Wagner himself were.

On the eve of Saturday’s playoff opener, Wagner made his point again with an Instagram post that read, “The last dance -> Playoffs,” with a handshake emoji in the middle.

Surely that was that, amid recent reports of England’s Brighton, Italy’s Lecce, and Greece’s AEK Athens looking at signing Wagner this winter as a free agent.

The Union offered him a raise this summer, but it wasn’t as big as the one Wagner wanted. Neither side has budged much since, in part because the Germany native has wanted to go back to Europe in each of the last three winters. If he really wants to stay here for the long term now, the trust between him and Tanner seems too broken to make a deal happen unless ownership gets involved.

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The latest chapter of the saga came in the 3-1 win over New England. Wagner was outstanding, piling up 63 touches, two scoring chances created, the assist on the third goal, and 42-of-46 passing.

At the defensive end, he had three tackles, three recoveries, two clearances, and won five of the 13 duels he contested. And at the River End, there were some loud choruses of “Pay Kai Wagner!”

Wagner left the stadium before Curtin’s postgame news conference ended, which means he was gone before almost all the media got to the locker room. So we didn’t get to hear his view of his big game. Instead, it was left to others to do the talking.

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“Kai was excellent,” Curtin said. “He played a great game — got forward, gave them problems, the one-touch ball on the goal [the Union’s second] that he sets up was really, really good. Defended well.”

Was this Wagner’s last game at Subaru Park? Not necessarily, but it would take some plot twists. If New England takes Game 2 of the series at home on Nov. 8 (7 p.m., FS1, Fox Deportes, Apple TV), there will be a Game 3 on Nov. 12 in Chester. But no one in blue and gold wants that.

Otherwise, it would take upsets in the bracket for the Union to host another playoff game. Oddly enough, their best odds of a home game would be the MLS Cup final if they make it. While they’re the No. 4 seed in the East, St. Louis City is the only Western Conference team with a better record. Every other Western team would have to come to Chester for the title game.

» READ MORE: Is it win or bust for the Union? Not when a busting might be coming no matter what

A week ago in the regular-season finale, Nathan Harriel was denied a game-tying goal by a judgment call. He met a Wagner free kick and stuck it in the net, but Julián Carranza was offside in the middle of the 18-yard box when Wagner hit his service. Carranza didn’t touch the ball, but the rule is anyone judged to be involved in the play who’s in an offside position can disqualify a goal.

Harriel and others weren’t thrilled, but Carranza was in line with New England goalkeeper Jacob Jackson and ended up between Jackson and Harriel when the ball got there. So it was hard to argue against the no-goal call.

On Saturday, Harriel and all his teammates were onside when Wagner served the ball that Harriel scored. It rightly counted, but go watch the replay again. Harriel wasn’t onside by much.

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He also was surprisingly open for a player who New England had to know would be a set-piece threat. The Revolution let Harriel get away with lining up behind their entire nine-man defensive block, which had assembled on the 18-yard line with seven Union players among them.

The closest New England player, midfielder Noel Buck, was watching Wagner serve the ball instead of checking to see if anyone was behind him. At the other end of the line, Mark-Anthony Kaye was leaning forward just enough to keep Harriel on.

By the time Buck saw Harriel run by him, it was too late. Buck lunged, but Harriel rose to head the ball past a helpless Jackson to the far post. Buck slammed the turf in annoyance as he watched from up close.

“We talked about it all week in training, about attacking set pieces, and trying to do the same exact thing as [at] New England — just onside,” Harriel said. “It was great to get a goal against an opposition [that was] very dangerous. I wasn’t really marked at all.”

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Amazingly, it’s already been more than 25 years since Italian soccer legend Christian Vieri invented one of the sport’s most famous catchphrases: “Goals are like children. They are all beautiful.”

Vieri might find something familiar in Mikael Uhre’s tall, gangly frame, even if the former undoubtedly was a more prolific scorer — and usually had far more hair. But the point here is that a good striker knows where to be and how to get there, not just how to put the ball in the net.

Let’s go again to the videotape — or in this case, the social media clip. The buildup to Uhre’s goal starts with Wagner playing a pass back to Jack McGlynn to keep New England’s DeJuan Jones at play. At that point, Uhre was standing some 26 yards from goal, with Dave Romney marking him tightly.

» READ MORE: Union striker Mikael Uhre reflects on a year that’s been good, but not as good as he wanted

Wagner and Jones knew there was lots of open space behind them, and McGlynn saw it, too. He played a terrific first-touch pass over the top into that space. Romney watched the ball — you might notice a theme here — and started retreating. As soon as he did, Uhre spun around and hit the gas pedal, taking off into open space between Romney and Ryan Spaulding.

Wagner got to the ball long before Jones, then hit that one-touch cross Curtin referred to above. The ball clanked off Romney, and Jackson could only reflexively punch it right into Uhre’s path.

If you didn’t think it was pretty, take it up with Vieri. And as frustrating as it can be when Uhre’s plays don’t go right, give him credit on this one for hustling to the right position.