Well, that was honestly not as humiliating as it initially appeared to be..Atlanta United went down swinging. The Five Stripes welcomed Columbus Crew back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a game that – oh wait, it’s 2-0 already – would’ve provided some confidence heading into what’s essentially an early 2026 preseason. Despite a decent opening 5 minutes, Atlanta then allowed Columbus to hit the back of the net five (5!) times in the first 25 minutes, with two of those being called back for offside.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE.
Columbus would end up making it 5-0 by about the 39th minute as Atlanta simply looked…done. Done with the whole season.
BUT WAIT THERE’S EVEN MORE!
Normally this would be where I’d transition over to my different points and try to analyze the game and its little nuances, or players or moments that stood out. This was a soccer game played by a team that looks broken. It was poor on both sides of the ball during the first half, and the morale of the entire squad simply looked shot. The two early second half goals helped, certainly, and the rest of the second half was a hell of a ride, but you just can’t go down 5 goals at home, especially in one half.
Keep in mind, this next paragraph I wrote mostly at halftime, but I can’t let a miraculous (almost) comeback full of recency bias take away from at least some semblance of objectivity. So….
Objectively, it’s hard to look at a match like this, capping off a season such as 2025, and see Ronny Deila as head coach much longer. There simply hasn’t been much of anything to be truly positive about. The fans are struggling to find the incentive to go show the steadfast support they always have, and attendance certainly isn’t what it once was. The goodwill from the epic 2024 playoff run and the big signings in the offseason has been drained dry. While I’d love to see a happy ending involving a complete turnaround under Ronny Deila, the fact of the matter is you can currently count the number of MLS wins for Atlanta United this year on one hand…assuming you have all of your fingers.
This result also means Atlanta United is officially eliminated from the playoffs, not that it needs to be pointed out.
It sucks because this was a record breaking number of goals scored inside the Benz…Atlanta just happened to be on the wrong end.
I’ll give a big shout out, though, to Cooper Sanchez, who looked really good in his young MLS minutes. We keep saying the youth in this organization will be game changers as they continue to develop, and Cooper is just another example.
Let us know down below what you thought of the match.
I guess it could be worse, it could have been 7-0 like Vancouver-Philly.
Yes – but Philly has already clenched a playoff spot and are in first place in the East even after that pitiful showing. We are 5 points clear of the Wooden Spoon – but LA has a game in hand!
Spectacular drunken uncle experience if you’re a neutral player that’s as univested as the ATL UTD team.
I was not entertained.
Keep in mind, Rossi came out after their fifth goal as well. If he had played a full game, it may have been 10-4. The almost comeback can be something to look excited about for a team that has shown anything. For this team, it just doesn’t mean much to me.
It means this team is one of the all time suckers.
There’s your meaning.