Atlanta United lost 3-2 to Charlotte FC on Saturday night.
It’s been close to a month since Atlanta United has won a match. Atlanta United’s last victory came on May 28 against Orlando City SC. Another rivalry match, the 3-2 victory was only the fourth outright victory of the season.
The last time Atlanta United (13th in the Eastern Conference with 20 points) and rival Charlotte FC (ninth in the Eastern Conference with 32 points) met on March 1 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Five Stripes were held scoreless during a 2-0 loss. Atlanta United came into that match following a dramatic victory in its home opener against CF Montreal a week earlier. On Saturday, Atlanta was playing an important match on the heels of an equally dramatic 2-2 draw against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night.
Picking up points in their last three matches (draws at DC United, at Toronto, and on Wednesday against Chicago), Atlanta was looking for three points and a victory.
Atlanta opened the match more aggressively this time around, earning a pair of corner kicks within the first two minutes of the match. Neither resulted in clean looks at Charlotte’s goal, but the message was sent that the home team wasn’t going to sit back and wait for the match to come to them.
That aggression would materialize into the first goal of the match when Bartosz Slisz found Tristan Muyumba for a header in the 19th minute. Slisz’s play of late had been some of the best on the team, so the assist was timely. Atlanta United had fallen behind several times this season, so having a 1-0 lead felt like an energy boost of sorts. The goal was Muyumba’s first of the season.
The ability to get goals from multiple players not named Miranchuk, Almiron, Latte Lath, and Lobjanidze makes Atlanta United a dangerous club. Last week, Will Reilly’s stoppage-time goal turned another loss into a draw. Muyumba’s goal allowed Atlanta to go into halftime ahead for once.
That advantage wouldn’t last long as Charlotte mounted an offensive attack within the first minute of the second half that resulted in a goal by Charlotte forward Idan Toklomati. His teammate Kerwin Vargas’s assist was low and on point, putting Toklomati right in front of Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan. It was beautiful soccer when Charlotte needed it the most. Atlanta had dominated possession, particularly late in the first half.
Atlanta nearly regained the lead in the 55th minute when a Muyumba shot was blocked out of bounds. Minutes later, Atlanta defender Derrick Williams, back in the lineup after missing a few games, blocked a sure Charlotte run to goal in the 57th. This was a complete team effort from the Five Stripes. Until it wasn’t.
That couldn’t help Atlanta when Charlotte striker Wilfred Zaha took on three Atlanta defenders and still managed to score in the 59th minute. Zaha got hold of a long pass from teammate Pep Biel and displayed a skill level seen in England, Germany, and Spain. On Saturday night, 60,005 soccer fans got a chance to see it in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Late in the match, Atlanta had several opportunities to tie the match, but Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina seemed to find a way to block or save all of them. Kahlina, who has been named Major League Soccer’s Goalkeeper of the Year in the past, has been a thorn in Atlanta’s side since this rivalry began.
Pep Biel would give Charlotte a 3-1 lead in the 77th minute when he took a pass from Zaha and found the left corner of the Atlanta net just beyond Guzan’s reach. Atlanta striker Emmanuel Latte Lath reduced the deficit when he scored his second goal in three games off an assist from Miguel Almiron.
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