Atlanta United faced the New England Revolution at IMG Academy in Florida in its first preseason match against MLS competition, coming away with a 2-0 win that saw a first-choice XI (with a few exceptions) playing the bulk of the afternoon.
The big news for Atlanta: Miguel Almiron received the starting nod in his first action with the team since his return. Derrick Williams, after missing the preseason contest against Birmingham Legion FC, was back in the lineup and started, with Xande Silva returning as well. Dom Chong Qui, who has impressed Ronny Deila in preseason, also found himself among the starters.
It was nothing doing over the first half-hour until Atlanta found the scoreboard first in the 33rd. Alexey Miranchuk’s free kick from outside the scoring area was headed in by Jamal Thiare to make it 1-0.
After a would-be Atlanta goal moments after Thiare’s tally was called back on offside, the lead eventually doubled in the 56th minute through Mateusz Klich, who powered a failed clearance past Aljaz Ivacic as Atlanta opened up a 2-0 lead.
Deila opted for wholesale changes with just over 20 minutes to play, with Atlanta eventually seeing the match out to make it back-to-back victories in preseason action. It returns to action in Florida on Wednesday against FC Cincinnati.
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