A new opponent appears!
Atlanta United face off with Liga MX side Santos Laguna this afternoon in a do-or-die Leagues Cup match to advance out of the wonderfully named East Pod 7. The Five Stripes earned a point nine days ago in a wacky, chaotic 3-3 comeback against D.C. United, but missed out on the extra point in the ensuing penalty shootout.
The shootout victory gave D.C. an instant leg up, and they took full advantage on Wednesday, putting aside Santos by a score of 3-0 to lock up the top spot in the three team group. It’ll come down to the outcome of today’s match to determine which remaining side gets the second and last berth into the knockout round. Despite Atlanta holding a point from their draw, a penalty shootout loss will still eliminate the Five Stripes from the competition due to the first tiebreaker being head-to-head results, making the match a true winner take all.
It’s not only a knockout round spot on the line (which Atlanta hasn’t done before in this competition), but there’s also the potential for Atlanta United to host the next round’s match at Bobby Dodd Stadium due to a concert scheduled at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For that, Atlanta would need NYCFC to win against FC Cincinnati to take the top spot in their group. Should Atlanta United be eliminated, the next match wouldn’t come until an August 24th visit to the LA Galaxy, with the next home match all the way on September 14th.
There’s no reason Atlanta United shouldn’t be expected to move on, either. Santos Laguna haven’t won in their last eleven matches, a run stretching back to March. In the new Apertura season, Santos sit in 16th place through four matches, and have only scored a single goal thus far.
An MCL injury to Ronald Hernandez will keep him out 4-6 weeks per the club, reducing already short depth at the left back position. This means we should see much more of the newly signed Pedro Amador, who made his debut in the 76th minute. The high profile new Designated Player signing, Alexey Miranchuk, won’t be available yet as the team sorts out his visa, which should take at least another week.
It’s a rare 4:00 PM ET kick from the Benz, with streaming on your typical Apple TV with a subscription to MLS Season Pass. Radio coverage is provided in English on 92.9 The Game and in Spanish on La Mejor.
As always, hop down to the comment section below as your match thread for discussion on everything surrounding today’s must-win match.
Atlanta United’s Lineup:
Santos Laguna’s Lineup:
How to Watch:
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Kickoff Time: Sunday, August 4th; 4:10 PM ET
Available TV/Streaming: Apple TV (with MLS Season Pass Subscription)
Available Radio: 92.9 The Game, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
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I don’t understand. Garth said we are so back.
This team sucks so bad.
He’ll probably hire you as his PR executive for that one. Good call.
Time to shift to football 🏈 🙁
Not gonna lie, I could use a 3 week break as a fan.
Crazy that the striker is the one who can’t score a penalty.
Would explain why he didn’t take the pen vs DC
Atlanta did not play like they even wanted to get to the next round. Lots of dysfunction in the attack, but the defense continues to be solid. Looks like they simply want a 3 week break and training time with the new DP(s).
Posted before PKs, so let’s see what happens.
I do not fancy our chances in pens…
Do those advertisements on the jerseys really make enough money to justify destroying a jersey like that? They have like 10 on there
All Mexican teams are like this for no reason lol
Im sorry but there’s no excuse for getting a red for arguing or fighting. It’s selfish af
Although I’m not seeing where the red card was?
Jsut tuned in, don’t guess I missed much
First half, Atlanta is still somewhat out of sync and not clinical in their passing. They are trying some highly technical moves and tight through balls, but those aren’t coming off so lots of giveaways (to be fair, most are in or near the attacking third). Gregerson doing well to head off several dangerous runs.
Overall, 5/10 for Atlanta. Santos Laguna is somehow 4/10 though so the current scoreline and stats are a pretty accurate picture. Also, this ref is probably calling the best game we’ve had in a while in any competition. Very fair, easy to see what is a foul and what isn’t, keeping things moving.
A disjointed and unimpressive half.
No Guz ?
Cohen is playing all of the in-season tournaments (USOC and Leagues Cup)
If Guz retires end of this season (which is likely), I would implore Cohen to spend the offseason working on his distribution and long balls because they leave much to be desired.
He’ll be in open competition with Hibbert so maybe that’s the incentive he needs.
Why? Why not try to win
“There’s no reason Atlanta United shouldn’t be expected to move on, either. Santos Laguna haven’t won in their last eleven matches…”
Oh if only this team cared about things like “should win” logic. Considering our upset wins against top teams like Columbus and Miami and our upset losses to teams somehow worse than us, I’m taking nothing for granted in 2024. We need to show up today with brains turned on and get the job done against a bad team.
You were right. I think most of us had zero faith in our ability to win a game at home we should win easily, on paper.
curious to see how Amador does running a full 90 or at least starting the match
I hope he does well. Matthew Edwards and Abram are our only other options at LB.
Well Abram is starting as a CB so i think I am moving up the depth chart
Just hoping for a fun-to-watch game. I would also love to go to another ATL UTD game at Bobby Dodd. Those were the days!
That was *not* fun to watch. 🙁