Two weeks ago, on the brink of postseason elimination and without a single road win to their name, Atlanta United travelled to Nashville, Tennessee, one of the toughest places in the league to find a result.
And yet, after a rare Ronald Hernandez goal assisted by Steven Alzate and seven Jayden Hibbert saves (plus a VAR intervention), Atlanta weathered the storm and made it out of GEODIS park alive with a 1-0 victory, a first league win in three months.
In true Atlanta United fashion, though, the calendar went immediately into an international break after a big performance from the Five Stripes. Any momentum gained feels like it’s long gone in the rearview. The elimination scenarios only became more realistic, too: Atlanta has to get all three points against the Columbus Crew tonight AND Chicago can not defeat NYCFC in order for Atlanta United’s playoff hopes to survive.
If there’s anything going for Atlanta, it’s defensively. The Five Stripes have kept back to back clean sheets- something they haven’t accomplished since August of 2023- with Jayden Hibbert in goal, Enea Mihaj in the back alongside Gregersen, with Amador and Hernandez out wide. They’ll be tasked with defending a Crew team that aren’t invincible, having failed to win any of their three post-Leagues Cup matches, but still plenty dangerous with the likes of Diego Rossi, Daniel Gazdag, and new DP striker Wessam Abou Ali all in attack. Our old friend Darlington Nagbe is expected to return from an injury as well, making this match the perfect testing ground for the “Alzate as the Nagbe replacement” claim.
As far as Atlanta’s injuries go… it’s not much better than last time. Latte Lath is still listed as out as he recovers from a hamstring injury, as does Matt Edwards, who was able to train this past week. Bartosz Slisz will also miss out on the action due to yellow card accumulation. Busy international break schedules could also throw all kinds of wrinkles into what lineup decisions we see tonight.
Will Atlanta United still be in playoff contention by the end of it?
We’ll find out together, with kickoff from the Benz coming your way at 7:40 PM ET. Before then, though, come join the Scarves and Spikes live show just across the way at Signia by Hilton’s Nest on Four for some pregame thoughts, analysis, open mic and more. If you aren’t making it to the Benz, streaming can be found on Apple TV with a subscription to MLS Season Pass while radio coverage is provided in English on 92.9 The Game and in Spanish on La Mejor.
Atlanta United’s Lineup:
Columbus Crew’s Lineup:
How to Watch:
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Kickoff Time: Saturday, September 13th, 7:40 PM ET
Available TV/Streaming: Apple TV (with MLS Season Pass Subscription)
Available Radio: 92.9 The Game, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
This thread will be your match thread. We don’t have many rules here. We just ask that you don’t insult each other personally and treat each other with respect. Debates can get heated and that’s fine, but name-calling and petty insults will get you banned. If you see a comment that you feel is out of line, please report it and it will be dealt with.
| Get Atlanta United and NWSL Atlanta 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. |
The final score belies the reality – the first half was as bad as it possibly could be. A couple of weeks ago, the AJC had a story asking why is Atlanta’s defense suddenly good – well the answer is that it is not good, it is tragic. There will need to be wholesale changes over the winter – including the manager.
Credit for the fight tonight – still we shouldn’t be the position of a have-to win to stay alive for the playoffs…5 wins for the entire season…is that 31 matches so far?
29 according to google. If you include leagues cup, you can add 3 matches and one win.
Someone remind me, what is cooper Sanchez’s natural position?
lol what the heck is happening
Lennon came in!
Credit where credit is due, that was a good cross. Bout time he had one!
Oh! I was just being a smart ass. I’m a radio listener (they haven’t given me a reason to buy MLS pass) and tapped out when the radio guys said, ‘this is hard to watch.’ So, I switched to score watching.
He’s been mostly invisible other than the assist. But I will credit him for the cross that Saba and Hernandez were not making
The only enjoyable part of watching this experience is all the kids on the halo. They had over half of the gates into the stadium closed when we arrived. Telling.
Thank goodness for DJ EU. Although he needs some vitamin D in a bad way.
We’re outshooting them. Just dont look at the scoreboard.
So much ball watching
This should get Deila fired. Period. I don’t care how it looks to fire yet another coach. He has not been able to field a competitive, professional team all year. Blow it all up as much as you can, and start over. We had a great team and got rid of all the pieces, and haven’t been the same since. This group ain’t it. This coach ain’t it. Unwatchable.
The real question is how it looks to KEEP the coach after these results. Worst ever home loss, no playoffs, record non winning streak. It is enough. Keeping him makes us an absolute laughing stock of a club.
I agree with this…our D has just been standing around watching 👀 Columbus just shred us up….bring on the wooden spoon!
On a side note…I just love paying more for my season tix with these performances…real value…
Now watching LSU
Sorry guys, but #DeilaOut
Is there a mercy rule?
Maybe if they beat us badly enough Deila will get fired
Wow, 4-0? I switched to FCC x NSH after 2. What a shambolic performance.
4-0 in 30 mins is pretty bad….
I mean 5-0
Im not at the match…but this is me heading for the exit…
Wow…no defense no mids. No talent…best think..we have is the keeper…but he had not defense…get rid of all of them…
For the Mira haters, who’s your scapegoat now? Lolol
Muyumba has been my scapegoat personally since Lennon and Abram left/stopped seeing the field (I haven’t been a Miranchuk hater)
Plus side- kinda enjoying the high press, I imagine partially available to Miranchuk on the bench
Negative- Columbus scores their second as I’m typing this. Watching all that off ball movement and passes makes me jealous.
This wouldn’t have happened if Lennon had started LOLOL.
Wonder why Miranchuk isn’t starting
Was with Russia apparently over the break.
Yea, he played with the national team over the break and I guess travel is not fun with a Russian passport
Radio mentioned something like a bruise.
Please stop with the “playoff hope” crap.
Well probably after this game there won’t be any to mention anyway.
If you’ve watched any of the podcasts I think you’d know that’s basically just a joke in their minds too at this point. But, ya know, I guess you aren’t eliminated until you’re eliminated. 🤷🏻♂️