An early goal by Saba Lobjanidze and a fantastic finish by Giorgos Giakoumakis from outside the box lifted Atlanta United to a 2-0 win over Orlando City Sunday night. The win felt more like a gritty away win than a win at home, where United’s back line fought off chance after chance by Orlando. However, Atlanta still had plenty of chances on goal, especially on the counter, but just weren’t clinical enough to pile onto the score. That was mainly in fault to certain players having off nights, but others stepped up to make sure Orlando were put in their place.
GK: Brad Guzan – 8
Guzan continues to prove his viability as a starter at his age with a very strong performance. He pulled off plenty of saves, the most impressive being a quick reaction save from a Luis Muriel shot going to the roof of the net that he punched away, and kept Atlanta firmly in control of the game. His communication was as good as always, and he even seemed to “fake” an injury just as the team’s grip on the game started to slip in the second half (easily could’ve been a real injury, but it seemed too convenient). Great performance.
LB: Caleb Wiley – 7
After a sub-par outing against New England defensively, Wiley completely turned that around on Sunday. He shut down everything that came from the left side of the back line and then helped Silva and Atlanta’s attack overload the left side of the final third. It was a great turnaround, and even then, you could tell Wiley hasn’t fully hit his stride.
CB: Stian Gregersen – 7
Gregersen was defensively sound, being patient in his tackling compared to his first few games with the club, and was dominant in the air. While there is still room to grow, he completely shut down Orlando’s front line of Duncan McGuire and Luis Muriel and showed why he’s Atlanta’s third Designated Player.
CB: Derrick Williams – 6
Williams didn’t stand out like he did against the Revolution, but he stayed compact with Gregersen all match and played well. What was noticeable from him was his threat on set pieces. Williams got his head onto loads of corners but just couldn’t find the target. However, the amount of times he got himself into good positions was staggering and leaves a lot of room for potential goals in the future.
RB: Brooks Lennon – 7
Lennon had a great night on the offensive end, combining well with the midfield, using his much-improved first touch to settle long balls on runs in behind, and absolutely destroying Orlando’s Rafael Santos’ ankles before providing the game-sealing assist to Giorgos Giakoumakis. He is an epitome of consistency.
CDM: Bartosz Slisz – 7
Slisz put in another very solid shift, keeping a tight defensive shape with the back line all game and making some incredibly timed and strong tackles to end the Orlando threat. His passing accuracy could still be improved, but I expect it to come with time.
CM: Tristan Muyumba – 9
Muyumba was downright brilliant and proved why he is best as Atlanta’s 8 rather than their 6. He spearheaded certain attacking moves, got out of 1v2 situations with his creativity on the ball, and constantly pressured and drove at Orlando as one of the biggest threats on the field. His defense and tackling were also superb. If he keeps showing these skills on the ball, Pineda might consider Tristan at the 10 when Almada goes on international break.
CAM: Thiago Almada – 4
Almada put in his worst performance as a Five Stripe and it showed. Yes, he’s gone invisible in games before, but it wasn’t even that. Almada just was ineffective on every pass, touch, dribble, and shot that he took. He squandered a huge opportunity halfway into the first half by not taking an easy shot on the breakaway and instead trying to feed a marked Giakoumakis. Most of his usual game-changing passes were off the mark and gave Orlando way too many chances and too much forward momentum. Luckily for Atlanta, the squad now has the talent to facilitate and create plays without Almada playing well, but if this game was played even just last year, it’s a whole different story. Let’s hope Thiago can come back from the international break in form.
LW: Xande Silva – 8
Silva was electric on the left side, and while he didn’t get a goal, he created so many goal-scoring opportunities for United. What needs to be praised the most, though, is his defensive effort. Last year, his effort was nonexistent, but vs. Orlando, Silva was everywhere and constantly applying pressure, constantly winning the ball back. It’s been a great turnaround to see and really helps Atlanta to hit on the counter.
RW: Saba Lobjanidze – 10 (Man of the Match)
After a subpar performance against New England, Saba absolutely blew fans out of the water with this performance. An incredible goal was the highlight of his best game in an Atlanta United jersey, constantly providing a threat to Orlando’s defense with precise passing, great off-ball movement, on-ball movement into the midfield and out, and pure skill. His defensive effort was also superb, as he won more balls in Atlanta’s defensive third than Brooks Lennon on the right side. With Almada’s lackluster performance, Saba was more than able to be the team’s primary playmaker.
CF: Giorgos Giakoumakis – 9
After his first United hat trick, Giakoumakis followed it up with another great performance. His ball control and hold-up play, while still shaky, get better as each game passes. So does his on-the-ball skills, being able to create chances out of nothing for himself. GG was a great facilitator to Atlanta’s wingers when dropping back into space, reminding me of Harry Kane, and had one of his finest goals as a Five Stripe to put the game to bed, precisely powering a shot off the bottom of the crossbar in the top right corner. Josef Martinez was Orlando’s father, and Giakoumakis is their new stepfather.
Subs:
CM: Ajani Fortune – 6
Fortune was only called on to defend for the final 15-20 minutes of the match, but he did his job well with good positioning.
RW: Edwin Mosquera – 5
Mosquera didn’t get too many touches coming on late in the game, but when he did, he single-handedly ended Atlanta’s attack. He didn’t seem to play with confidence and it showed.
CB: Luis Abram – 5
Abram was clearing balls under no pressure and just played as if he was nervy. However, his tactic of hoping Orlando got distracted by the shine of his jelled hair definitively worked.
CF: Jamal Thiare: N/A
RB: Ronald Hernandez – N/A
How would you rate Atlanta United’s individual performances? Let us know in the comments below.
Stian feels a bit low. He and Slisz were everywhere defensively. Clean sheet and severly limiting Orlando’s threat on goal.
Missing both this weekend is going to be tough. Low expectations on the result from my end.
GG, Stian, Slisz, and Saba all stood out a bit more than the rest this game.
I think these numbers are guilty of grade inflation. IMO all of the players ranked 8, 9, or 10 are at least 1 number too high. On the other end, I do agree with Almada getting a 4; by his standards and potential he was particularly poor.
Need to play quicker in possession. It’s good to manage a lead and dictate the action, but the ball needs to move quicker at times in order to help maintain possession and keep the opponent chasing. Oftentimes, AUTD were sloppy and slow with the ball, allowing Orlando to recover the ball in dangerous positions.
I think Muyumba’s rating is a little high. He was overall a key player but he also had some just horrendous giveaways. Fortunately, we are much better equipped to snuff those out. I hate that Gregerson is now out for at least a match and maybe more. He’s a fantastic player. My only other point of contention is Almada’s rating at a 4. He wasn’t amazing, and had some sloppy turnovers, but he still mostly did his job. He made a lot of good passes, and did well driving the attack down the field on a number of decent build ups that just didn’t finish in the end. I’d give him a 5.
Overall, it was a nice 2-0 win over a hated rival, and we still have room to improve. We could do a bit better in the attacking third, but I think that will come in a few games. Even with a returning attack, I think there’s still some off-season rust to shake.
Yeah, he gave the ball away way too much. He has to be cleaner.
yeah, no way Saba was MOTM. That was GG, for sure. Saba scored one goal (off a deflection, from an insane pass by GG), and he wasted a handful of other opportunities with sloppy touches or bad decisions. His performance was a 5-6 without the goal.
As for Almada, you guys are harsh. According to WhoScored.com, he completed more passes than Muyumba, at roughly the same %. He had 3 successful dribbles out of 4. He was dispossessed twice. He didn’t do anything defensively, but that is not what they pay him to do. If that was his worst game in Atlanta, then he is an MLS hall of famer.
Saba also played the pass to Lennon that resulted in GG’s goal. I’d argue that it could be a toss up between GG and Saba, both with 8s or 9s
For Almada, I agree that 4 is a little harsh. He still created plenty of dangerous positions, he just ended up making the wrong final decision on multiple near chances. Same as Saba, honestly, except Saba had two that paid off and Almada didn’t.
Maybe 4 is a smidge low, but there was a lot of yelling at him to do better and / or wake up from my seat
A 9 for Muyumba? Did I miss something? I remember him giving the ball away too easily multiple times.
I’d dock the front 4 a point each because of all the times they got in the box and made the wrong decision and ended the possession without a shot.
Yeah, I wouldn’t rate Muyumba that high either for the amount of times he gave up the ball in easy in dangerous positions.
Where is everyone?
Let’s gooo
Moving sites is like building from scratch. It doesn’t just transfer.
That being said, both the new sites could use some upgrades in the comment section tech
I think people are still a little confused. Are there two threads on the player ratings?
These are Calum’s personal player ratings…community player ratings are here