Atlanta United doesn’t hit the competitive pitch until Saturday, but it started the year strong after Paulo Neto won the eMLS League Series 1 on Sunday following an intense tournament.
Neto won the same title last year before going on to claim eMLS League Series 2 and falling in the eMLS Cup final to St. Louis CITY’s Niklas Raseck.
On the road to his fourth eMLS title in three years, Neto defeated LAFC’s Pabs 3-2 in the round of 16 before taking down New England Revolution’s JAFONSO 4-2 in the quarterfinals. He then faced 2022/23 ePremier League Champion Olle “Ollelito” Arbin in the semifinals, beating the NYCFC eMLS player 3-2 in extra time after a thrilling last-minute goal.
Austin FC’s Diogo Mendes was Neto’s opponent in the grand final. Neto grabbed an early 1-0 lead, but Diogo didn’t take long to draw level. It looked like the first half would end in a draw, but Neto managed to score off a set piece and take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
The second half was much more lopsided than the first as Neto’s confidence continued growing as the game progressed. His trademark calmness ended up being an important asset as he put three more past Diogo and cruised to a 5-1 victory.
“I just play better in finals and the most important matches,” Neto said. “But all of the games were really tough, especially the final that he [Diogo] almost scored and then I could score back with the corner.”
Neto will be back in action during eMLS League Series 2, another title he’ll look to defend, on the weekend of March 1.
[…] journey to win the eMLS treble is off to a strong start after hoisting the League Series One trophy in mid February. On the path to his first title of 2024, Neto had several close games, but probably […]
[…] On February 6th, Atlanta United re-signed eMLS legend-in-the-making Paulo Neto through 2025. The young Brazilian has already delivered another trophy to the club, after winning the eMLS League Series 1 title. […]
[…] website, including all the details and info about the new Resurgens kit, preseason articles, the first Atlanta United trophy of 2024, our podcast episodes with Atlanta United players like Noah Cobb, Tyler Wolff, Aiden McFadden, and […]
Welcome to DSS 2.0 lol
Just created an account!
Hey Almada33! How’s the job search going?
I’ve sent a few emails and I’m waiting to hear back. Thanks for asking!
Np, hope it goes well
Hold lout for the highest transfer fee, please.
hi
(Just testing the comment login and reserving my name if that works lol)
It works!
Hi! Good to see you over here 😄
Hi JBTC
And just like that, we officially have more esports trophies than regular trophies as a club lol