It’s too early to tell if Latte Lath will be able to fully recoup the MLS-record $22 million Atlanta United paid to transfer him from Championship side Middlesbrough.
But if the Ivory Coast international’s first taste of action on this side of the pond is any indication, he’ll be a runaway success.
“I don’t think he’s fully (90 minutes) fit…but when he’s switched on and he has the legs, he can terrorize a defense, that’s for sure,” Atlanta head coach Ronny Deila said after Latte Lath scored twice in a 3-2 season-opening win over CF Montréal.
If he wasn’t ready to go a full 90 minutes, the 26-year-old certainly didn’t look it for much of his 89-minute shift, showcasing his speed and ability in front of a crowd of 65,520 — the third-largest attendance for a world football match on Saturday.
That’s not to say he wasn’t feeling the effects of the night: his final appearance with Boro nearly a month ago lasted just 7 minutes before he came off injured. He wasn’t able to train with Atlanta until Feb. 13, ultimately seeing action in a friendly against FC Dallas two days latter.
“Honestly, to start the game, I felt like after my first run I said, ‘Okay, today maybe I’ll play five minutes today,'” Latte Lath said.
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His first of two goals came on a picture-perfect set piece, meeting a Saba Lobjandize corner kick with his head to stake Atlanta to a 1-0 lead minutes before halftime.
“He jumped like Air Jordan,” Deila quipped.
Latte Lath’s second goal saw more of a poacher’s instinct on his part, scoring in the 63rd minute to make it 2-2 after CFM goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois couldn’t fully deal with a Miguel Almiron header.
“He’s dangerous and he scores goals. That’s exactly what the team needs in a striker, and he could have scored three goals or more. Maybe four today,” Mateusz Klich said. “So, it’s good to have him there. He’s hungry. He’s electric.”
All in all, if Atlanta United’s $22 million man wanted to make a good positive impression, he did just that.
“It means a lot because I came here with ambition, so I’m really happy for the team,” he said. “They helped me when I came here and we finished with the three points.”
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Loved LL’s debut, but what made my heart go pitter-patter was those gorgeously weighted passes off the foot of Miggy. His passes are magic…like a golf ball smoothly rolling across the green. That match winning assist to Mosquera was like watching a video game. Absolutely perfectly weighted pass, no bounce, arrow straight spin. Mosquera just had to touch it to redirect, then launch his game winner.
One thing that really got my attention was late in the game when LL got all the way back on defense to head off a run by a Montreal player. He gave up the corner on the play, but he stopped what looked like would be a cross to the spot with his hustle.
All respect to Josef, but I do not recall many instances of him doing that.
I know we all want to compare our new strikers to Josef, but at some point we have to stop and realize that won’t do much for anything anymore.
Seeing him track back and make that play though was *chefs kiss* to being a strong player willing to help how needed.
Josef did his job while he was here. Let him go and just remember the good he did for us.
Oh I have. Small sample size and all that but I like LL’s complete game a bit better. Hope he keeps up that level of effort on both sides of the ball.
I’m comparing to Josef because we haven’t had a great striker since him other than maybe Giakoumakis, who didn’t have a great first touch and was injured too often to make a lasting impression. It’s not to say he’s supposed to be Josef or that Josef should be here or anything of that, we just don’t have anything else to compare strikers to yet. Plus so far they seem to be similar profile of strikers too, as opposed to Giakoumakis being more of a target forward.
Giako-who?
[…] Latte Lath savors “electric” Atlanta United debut after opening night brace […]
I think you forgot to mention he is fast.
El es rapido
I was pleasantly surprised by his dynamism in build up, with quick passing and ball control. That was the one area I didn’t see much in his Boro tape or stats, but he looked really good.
He had a lot of chances to score, probably should have had 4 by the time he got subbed out, but that’s the refinement I hope to see as the season goes on. Stay healthy LL, we’re all behind you rooting for you.
It’s early, yes. But he looked every bit the player he was advertised to be. He was a menace for the defense all night.