Messi-mania may have filled Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday, but Atlanta United stayed focused and came back to earn a point against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
The Five Stripes were put behind by two unlucky concessions but displayed the mental fortitude to fight back from a losing position – something that hasn’t been all that common this season.
There was much rotation in the starting lineup that Rob Valentino rolled out to face the Herons. While the backline stayed the same, the midfield returned to a defensive line of three with Dax McCarty as the single pivot while Tristan Muyumba and Bartosz Slisz played on either side. Up top, Saba Lobjanidze was switched to the left side and Alexey Miranchuk was deployed on the right wing.
The Five Stripes came out stronger than they did against Nashville and looked better going forward. The position shift of some players helped destabilize Miami’s defense and better exploit space behind the backline. Miranchuk in particular looked more free roaming on the wings than he has down the middle.
But luck wasn’t on Atlanta’s side in the first half as a pass from Franco Negri deflected off McCarty’s foot and landed perfectly at David Ruiz’s feet inside the box. The Honduran midfielder calmly beat Brad Guzan to put the Herons ahead after 29 minutes.
The Five Stripes would see a little more fortune in the second half as a header by Lobjanidze slipped through Drake Callender’s legs to equalize in the 56th minute. That was the Georgian’s 8th goal of the season across all competitions.
But the lead lasted a mere three minutes as the Benz trembled with Lionel Messi’s imminent entrance. The Herons were given a free kick on the edge of the box and Leonardo Campana blasted it into the wall, which deflected it past Guzan to reestablish the visitors’ lead.
Just when it seemed that Miami would celebrate another three points on its way to claiming this season’s Supporters’ Shield, Atlanta’s newest designated player stepped up big time. Alexey Miranchuk properly introduced himself to his new fans (and Offset) with a curling shot from way out that gave Callender no chance. His first goal wearing five stripes leveled the game again at 2-2.
Despite Atlanta United peppering Miami’s goal with shot after shot, the Herons’ defense would not budge and the teams split the points in the end.
Man, if only this team played against Nashville, huh? There was fight, grit and an entertaining display for the more than 67,000 fans inside the Benz. Now, they just have to take this sort of effort into the rest of the season.
Atlanta United will be back in action on Saturday when it visits New York Red Bulls.
What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments and fill out your player ratings below.
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Probably the best 35 minutes all year long. It felt nice to have people in my section, unfortunately, it was all newcomers; none of the regulars we were there.
[…] Atlanta United rallies to draw Inter Miami 2-2 […]
I do wonder at this point, do we really need to make the playoffs? Don’t teams that don’t make the playoffs get more allocation money for the next season? Because as much as it is nice to see Atlanta pull off a draw, will this team be successful in the playoffs considering how uneven our play currently is?
you can do a lot with $200k. assuming we get a technical director willing to spend and find the right pieces
I’m happy to see Miranchuk found a decent rhythm and quite a wicked strike for his first goal with us.
Slisz had some downright garbage passes here and there, but to me he made up for it by defending Messi very well.
Lennon continued to be uninspiring (he’s slowed down in helpful production in the last 3 months or so)
I love having McCarty back as the “sweeper” so to speak and the distributor of the ball. That seems to work for us really, really well. I feel like our attackers feel more at ease with him back there and do more creative things as a result.
I am pleased with a draw tbh
Lennon is drifting into “overpaid” territory. He still makes up for some of his technical deficiencies with his incredible work rate and above average pace. He’s just very slow to process in the attack. His defending has never been a strong point. He’s not a total liability but he’s not a strong point there either.
On the flip side, Amador is looking more like he’s at least “above average” by MLS standards. He was all over the place last night. Not sure if it was merely an accident but the goal line save help salvage the point, and his cross to Saba was fantastic.
You know, one thing that keeps bugging me is: we know his biggest asset is his speed but how often to we exploit that?
I went to the match and saw Messi for the first time in my life which made be emotional. I love that man and Barcelona and I may never see him again. But besides that, here are my takeaways from the match:
I wish we got the McCarty that Nashville let go of. He’s not been horrendous, but I’m kinda glad he’s going to retire so we can just move on from this chapter with him. Feels like he’s been a net negative for us.
Miranchuk’s goal was filthy, but I’m still not sold on him just yet. Maybe I’ll feel a little differently when the cast around him changes and it allows him to do more Miranchuk things.
McCarty is basically on the hook for both Miami goals even if inadvertently. His deflection lead to the ball going to Ruiz for the first goal and he caused the foul for Miami’s free kick and deflected it past Guz.
I’d put McCarthy at neutral as an influence on the season. The team desperately needed his leadership both on and off the field. The team as a whole plays markedly better when he is on the field. However, he has indeed directly or indirectly had a number of quite costly mistakes as well.
Overall, I’d say he has shown how much we lost with Alonso down for two seasons. I’m very intrigued to see who we pull as a veteran midfielder in the offseason as it’s blatantly obvious the team needs one.
He seems like a guy who knows how to play, but his body just can’t quite do it anymore. His internal meat thermometer is at about 160 degrees.
Interesting…the team literally plays better when he’s on the field and he’s done a better job of that 6 role than Slisz has (in my opinion) and his leadership is felt all around. I can’t see how you’d say he’s been a net negative. Yes, his two mishaps gave miami their goals, but that hasn’t been the norm.
Idk, I feel like he makes huge mistakes every game. So does Slisz really, but at least Slisz is younger and maybe has some room to grow. Dax is on his way out and I think his move to retire is his own personal recognition of that loss of edge.