Atlanta United go from “best kind of football” to “bang-average” in Inter Miami loss

Latte Lath sat silently, his face telling the story of his disappointment in the events of the evening.

Players made their way to the showers and back, many without saying a word — not that they needed any to make their feelings crystal clear.

Such was the scene inside the Atlanta United locker room on Sunday night after a 2-1 loss to Inter Miami at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A place that used to be a fortress had been breached once more, this time by an opponent that — despite its star-studded lineup — Atlanta had handled well in past years.

Not on this night.

“I think the first 25 minutes was our best kind of football. We’re passing it quickly, two touches, going side to side,” a dejected Derrick Williams said. “We must have had like three or four chances. And then once we go away from that, we get sloppy.”

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One of those chances produced the first Atlanta goal in nearly 200 minutes, a well-placed cross from Brooks Lennon that was met by the head of Latte Lath. What appeared to be a second goal in the 19th minute was called offside — correctly, as Latte Lath’s upper body was shown leaning just past the last defender.

That would have made it 2-0. But after a poor turnover by Bartek Slisz led to a Lionel Messi goal, and despite more heroics by Brad Guzan to keep Miami at bay, a moment of miscommunication between Williams and the Atlanta keeper ultimately led to Fafa Picault’s 89th-minute winner.

“We don’t mark our man quickly enough, and then the header, it was slow motion,” Williams said. “I thought Guz had it, so I could have cleared it if I didn’t think he had it. But I thought he had it, so it was just a mix-up, and the ball goes in.”

Inter Miami 2, Atlanta United 1. That’s three straight winless results for Atlanta, who can’t afford more nights like that in their building, not with a lengthy road trip scheduled for the summer as the Benz is occupied for the Club World Cup.

They appeared to have a handle on things on Sunday until they didn’t, getting away from the “best kind of football” they exhibited in the first half.

“The gaffer’s big on it, going side to side, just getting them unbalanced. And it shows when we do that, we have so many chances,” Williams said. “So it’s just frustrating when we don’t do that, when we start being slower on the ball, taking more touches, and then going out of position. And that’s when we look like a bang-average team.”

Next up for Atlanta is a trip to FC Cincinnati on Saturday, their ranks reduced due to FIFA’s international match windows.

All that’s left to do, with 30 matches still to go in the regular season, is to pick up the pieces and go again.

“We have such a strong squad. I still think we’ll be okay,” Williams said. “But we just have to do the right things, the simple things, and be disciplined. It’s when we go any way off that is when we look very average.”