Atlanta United erased a 1-0 deficit before it all came apart in the second half as they fell to Necaxa 3-1 in their first match of the 2025 Leagues Cup. The new format of the tournament makes it incredibly tough for Atlanta to advance out of the group stage even if they end up winning their next two against Pumas and Atlas — that said, they likely never stood a chance at making any sort of run in the tournament.
On to the player ratings. As a reminder, here’s the ratings scale:
- 10 – world-class performance
- 9 – elite performance
- 6 – average
- 5 – slightly below average
- 3 – well below average
- 1 – poor in every level
| Get Atlanta United training ground updates, audio and video content you won’t see anywhere else, Discord access, and more. Support us on Patreon and help support independent soccer coverage here in Atlanta! Click here to start a 7-day free trial. |
Man of the Match
Alexey Miranchuk
Staff rating: 6.75 | Community rating: 6
As Henry noted, Alexey has been enjoying a decent run of form over the past few matches. The sum of his work with Atlanta hasn’t been great, but this version of him is what we’ve hoped to see since he arrived. Great awareness to get himself in position to put home the rebound following Tristan Muyumba’s initial shot.
Brad Guzan
Staff rating: 5 | Community rating: 3.7
He was pegged with an own goal on Necaxa’s opener and can’t be blamed at all for the second one, but the third goal (yes, the defense didn’t do their part) should have seen Guzan take away the near post a little better.
Ronald Hernandez
Staff rating: 5.75 | Community rating: 5.5
Hernandez continues to show well. He’s formed a strong partnership on the right-hand side with Miguel Almiron and has offered more of a well-rounded game than Brooks Lennon.
Derrick Williams
Staff rating: 4 | Community rating: 3
A forgettable night for Williams, who was originally bailed out by Enea Mihaj after a poor pass before Atlanta ultimately conceded. His form continues to be increasingly concerning.
Stian Gregersen
Staff rating: 5.75 | Community rating: 5.1
Another decent, while imperfect, night for Stian. He continues to progress toward being 90 minutes fit as he exited just after the hour mark.
Pedro Amador
Staff rating: 4.75 | Community rating: 4.5
Probably one of Amador’s most disappointing performances since arriving in Atlanta. The player we saw in the run-up to the playoffs in 2024 just isn’t there.
Tristan Muyumba
Staff rating: 6.25 | Community rating: 5
Muyumba was involved in the buildup to Atlanta’s goal as he did well to check his run long enough to get on the end of Luke Brennan’s through ball, ultimately not scoring but forcing a save that led to Miranchuk’s tally.
Bartosz Slisz
Staff rating: 6 | Community rating: 5.2
Another steady night for the midfielder. He is a totally different player than the one we saw last year.
Luke Brennan
Staff rating: 6.25 | Community rating: 6.3
Brennan continues to show why he has such a bright future, showing a continued fearlessness to take on defenders 1v1 and ultimately making the entry pass to Muyumba that led to Atlanta’s goal.
Miguel Almiron
Staff rating: 6.5 | Community rating: 5.3
I don’t want to be too hard on Almiron, but he was snakebitten on Wednesday. He should have had at least a goal at minimum on the evening, and perhaps an assist if Latte Lath could have simply finished a golden chance.
Jamal Thiare
Staff rating: 5.5 | Community rating: 4.75
Thiare received the start over Latte Lath, which, frankly, speaks volumes about Ronny Deila’s confidence in the $22 million striker. Jamal didn’t score, but at this point looks more of a threat to find the target.
Substitutes
Emmanuel Latte Lath (64′)
Staff rating: 5.5 | Community rating: 3.7
Latte Lath’s performances continue to be equal parts baffling and frustrating — just see the opportunity he had on a perfect pass from Almiron. The fact that he’s scored just one goal from open play since March is troubling.
Enea Mihaj (64′)
Staff rating: 6 | Community rating: 5.7
As mentioned earlier, he bailed Williams out after a really bad pass before Atlanta ultimately gave up their goal, which saw him rise to challenge Tomas Baladoni’s header but was a touch too late.
Brooks Lennon (64′)
Staff rating: 4.5 | Community rating: 3.06
Presented without comment:
Put this in the contract negotiation discovery evidence file … down 2-1, one of the last attacking opportunities we’ll get in the match – and he tries this 💩 pic.twitter.com/NrNSvlVfmX
— DAinvesting (@DavidTradesATL) July 31, 2025
Will Reilly (64′)
Staff rating: 5.75 | Community rating: 4.7
I’m in favor of seeing more of Will Reilly down the stretch. Hopefully he is brought back by Atlanta as he has options for the next three seasons.
Saba Lobjanidze (81′)
Staff rating: 5 | Community rating: 4
Saba simply doesn’t offer what Luke Brennan has offered over the past several matches. It’s clear why he’s on the bench and the 20-year-old is starting.
If you all think Brennan was a 6.3 and Almiron was a 5.3 then I have a bridge to sell you.
I get theres a gap in expectations but unfortunately our results arent graded on a curve like that, so why would we give players a curve in their match ratings?
I had it the other way around. And I’d entertain an argument that Brennan’s 5 is better “value” than Almiron’s 6.
But I think the community really missed the mark here.
i thought miggy had a pretty solid game. and maybe the most complete i’ve seen in a couple of months. still some very frustrating moments, but he definitely deserved a goal.
He had 2-3 very close to being on target.
The Brennan thing is good, I like to see it, but at times I want to see him take the shot. he’s going for the pass a lot of times and the defense reads this as “he’s not going to shoot so overload the middle to take away that shot” and they read it well.
In all actuality, many teams read us well because we’re still very predictable.