Well… that was dramatic.
After the dust settled on a wild 5-4 loss at home to the Columbus Crew, Atlanta United’s playoff elimination was finally sealed. First of all, conceding FIVE GOALS in the first half of a game at home is INEXCUSABLE. Full stop. Especially when most of those goals were directly the result of bad giveaways or lackadaisical defending.
However, there was some good fight back to at least attempt a comeback. This team hasn’t scored four goals in a match since its 4-2 win over FC Cincinnati in May. Some credit is due for that.
Having said that, let’s dive into my risers and fallers for this dramatic match.
Risers
Miguel Almiron
If I had a nickel for every time Miguel Almiron started at the 10 this season, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Given Atlanta United’s scoring problems in 2025 (tied 7th worst in MLS), one would think that Ronny Deila would try him in that position a little more often. After all, it is the position that Miggy himself says he feels most comfortable playing.
After playing as a winger, second striker, and even a lone striker, the Paraguayan star finally returned to the creative midfield role for the first time since May. I thought he did very well. He was constantly finding ways to get involved in the attack and deserves a significant amount of credit for the team’s early attacking moves.
Finishing the game with four key passes and a secondary assist, Miggy had a really good game despite the result. I mean, when was the last time you’ve seen a team score FOUR GOALS in a game and still lose?
I believe that Miggy is a better playmaker than Miranchuk thanks to his superior skill on the ball and his overall better decision-making, especially under pressure. I would like to see Miggy at the 10 more often, especially now that the team is eliminated and the remaining five games on the schedule don’t really matter.
Jamal Thiare
I guess it ain’t always about the money.
With Emmanuel Latte Lath still unavailable, it was Jamal Thiare leading the line against the Crew. The 32-year-old Senegalese striker did his best to sustain the Five Stripes’ almost miraculous comeback, contributing two goals, an assist, and winning the penalty that Miggy converted to get Atlanta in the game.
After a strong performance that earned him a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday bench, I began to wonder how his numbers this season compared to Latte Lath, the club’s record signing. In 1,962 MLS minutes, Latte Lath has seven goals and three assists. On the other hand, Thiare has five goals and an assist in 680 minutes. In other words, Thiare has two goals fewer than Latte Lath in a third of the minutes.
Thiare’s contract expires at the end of this season, but he’s making a very strong case for the club to pick up his 2026 option.
Steven Alzate
Yeah, Alzate had a miscontrol that led to the fourth Columbus goal, but he also continued showing what a strong presence he is in midfield. He could recover possession, dribble through traffic, and help the team advance into the final third.
In his first time playing the full 90 minutes with Atlanta United, the Colombian midfielder played two key passes and created a big chance. He won 5/7 duels and succeeded in all of his dribble attempts.
Honestly, I think Alzate is the real deal. He’s looked very good in his first appearances with the club, and he’s probably the best midfielder they’ve had since Nagbe. Let’s just hope he doesn’t experience a tremendous season-to-season fall off like many promising summer signings have in recent seasons.
Fallers
Enea Mihaj
I went back and forth on whether I wanted to add Mihaj as a faller because his long passing proved very useful once again. In fact, that was what led to Atlanta’s third goal after Thaire chased down and finished one of the balls he sent over the top.
But Mihaj is a center back, which means that his primary responsibility is to defend. That’s the aspect of the match where he was most lacking. He had just one defensive contribution and engaged in zero ground duels in 90 minutes.
Oh, and he also had a horrendous giveaway that led to Columbus’s first goal.
I’m still high on Mihaj as a positive addition to Atlanta’s backline, but he definitely has to do better in those instances. Once Juan Berrocal entered at the start of the second half and the team shifted to a back three, Mihaj — and the defense as a whole — looked much better.
Saba Lobjanidze
I’d been begging for Atlanta to try Miggy at the 10 with Luke Brennan and Saba as wingers, but the experiment ended after just 45 minutes as both Brennan and Saba were subbed off at halftime. You can’t really expect any different after taking a historically terrible five-goal beating.
Originally, I didn’t really have Saba on my radar for this column, but after rewatching the match, I knew I had to include him as a faller. As the right winger, he plays on the side that Atlanta focuses most of its attacking on. That was very much true in this match, as Miguel Almiron kept finding ways to distribute the ball out wide to Saba.
However, I counted four separate occasions in the first 45 minutes where Saba received the ball in good positions and proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it. It happened way too often that he’d run to the end line before blasting a cross straight into an opposing defender.
He did have a couple of good crosses, including one that Thiare just put wide, but we’re talking about just TWO of SEVEN. That’s a waste. Turning 31 in December, the Georgian international is exiting his prime years, and I honestly don’t see him being a starter on a team that aspires to win titles.
Tristan Muyumba
You just knew he was going to be here, didn’t you?
He’s been in so many of my columns that I will now debut the Muyumba Faller Streak Counter (3) to show how many articles in a row I’ve had him as a faller.
So, where do we start with this one? Well, when the game was still level, Muyumba received a throw-in and proceeded to give the ball away inside his own half. This led to Columbus earning a penalty kick that was later overturned due to an offside in the buildup.
Then, I would say he’s at least 20% responsible for the first Columbus goal after his weak pass back to Mihaj, who was already under pressure. Looking at the numbers, Muyumba won just one of his three duels and lost possession five times while failing to register a single defensive contribution.
I just have no confidence that this team will be able to build up or control games with Muyumba in midfield. He is too much of a liability.
What do you think of my picks? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to share who your Risers and Fallers are for this match!
Although there were not many positives to take from that match, I agree with your risers and fallers. I hope (but do not expect) Deila will play Miggy at the 10 for the balance of the year – and at least make the matches entertaining. As for Tristan and Saba, their drop off from last year is truly baffling.
IMO, Saba is the biggest faller this season. I’m glad to finally hear someone say it, because it doesn’t seem like it’s talked about enough amongst the fanbase. He’s fallen so far off this year. He’s been aweful.
I don’t know what his contract term is, but it’SABAout time!
I’ve made some posts here and elsewhere to this end and agree, Saba just hasn’t had it this year. I think we all appreciate Saba’s work rate, and he was quite productive when he arrived in 2023 and put up good numbers in 2024. He’s been a mess this year.
Some of it is on him as he seems to play with blinders on at times, tries to hard to make stuff happen, and his touch leaves something to be desired. On the other hand, he’s moved around the formation a good bit, playing LW, RW, RWB, and I think AM/SS in some situations. With his contract expiring after next season (IIRC), I’d expect him back. This may not be a bad thing if Miggy is the plan at CAM. Move out Miranchuk this winter and add a DP wing to play on the left (or ideally one who can excel on either side). Saba likely isn’t returning after next season, at least not on a comparable deal. He’ll turn 31 in December.
Mostly agree with you. But we need production from his spot, wherever he is played. So I am in favor of moving him on this year and replacing him. He just seems unconnected with this team, and we might could get money for him before his contract is up?
I’d argue Muyumba being more than 20% responsible for the first goal. He really put Mihaj in a bad position, who had no reason to believe that Muyumba was going to put the ball there and just expect him to go for it. It was just as easily a layup to 2 Columbus players as it was a pass back. Mihaj should’ve been safer with it too, and Gregersen should’ve been doing more to either be an outlet or to be in a position to beat Rossi to the rebound, but I’d still put it at like a Mihaj 60/Muyumba 35/Gregersen 5 split.
I agree with everything overall though.
For some reason I thought SG made that soft pass, but it was Mihaj. Anyway he had Amador as an outlet but went back to the keeper. You’re right, Muyumba could’ve done better. He’s always been a turnover machine.
Funny enough, watching it live I thought it was Stian as well. The easiest answer in that situation was probably just to blast it out. Literally ANYTHING but playing it back like that.
Side note: I really feel for Jayden Hibbert. Five goals conceded that were absolutely not his fault. He got completely shafted by his defense. Hopefully this doesn’t affect his confidence too much.
This team has a very nasty habit of over complicating itself at the back. I’ve always been told “when in doubt, blast it out.” I think a lot of silly goals this season could’ve been avoided if they practiced that a bit more. I understand wanting to play out to execute the game plan, but not at the expense of a concession.
Also, this isn’t the first hospital ball Muyumba has played this season (or even this game). It’s why I view him as a significant liability on this squad. For me he’s the top buyout candidate going into next season.
100%. We get ourselves into trouble far too often trying to possess the ball instead of just playing it to safety in some of these situations. Send it up the touchline near midfield or hoof it into row 19th.
I do not need to see Muyumba play for us anymore. I’ve always appreciated that he plays hard and brings a certain energy, but he’s just too sloppy with the ball. So many of his passes either don’t have enough on them to get to his target, or are just kind of played into space without a target.
Watching live and on the replay, I thought Muyumba deserves more credit for the goal. That pass was a horrible decision AND poorly executed. Mijah was under pressure before he could even get to the ball.
The only reason I don’t put a majority of the blame on Muyumba is that Mihaj could’ve and should’ve just blasted it out, as Henry says. If he had attempted to do that and just failed from the pressure, then it’s like 90% on Muyumba.
Similar situation once for Michael Bradley when he first joined Toronto. Got the ball right side of the box under heavy pressure, had THREE passing options IIRC plus a 4th (blast it) but instead he dribbled back towards the penalty spot, got dispossessed and easy goal. Got a good cackle out of that one as I was such a MB hater LOL.
RD deserves an honorable mention as a Faller under Muyumba’s entry for EVEN PUTTING MUYUMBA ON THE EFFING PITCH TO START. I get that Slisz being on accumulation didn’t make it easy, but at this point, I would take literally any other player from any other position and just stuff him there if Muyumba is my only natural option. Oh, but btw, that wouldn’t have been necessary because you literally had Miranchuk and Reilly available. I’m not high on Mira, and Reilly, of course, isn’t going to blow our socks off, but to select Muyumba over both of them is just bananas.
It absolutely baffled me how much Deila continued to play Muyumba over Reilly. It’s only going to get worse now that Reilly’s out for at least 2-3 weeks. I’m glad Slisz is back from his suspension. The Slisz-Alzate midfield looks very positive.
Also, now that we know the final five games of the season don’t matter, I’d say give Cooper Sanchez some reps instead of continuing to trot out Muyumba. In fact, give me more of these players we rarely see like Chong Qui, Sessock or Afonso. Start the auditions for 2026.
I like your Risers and Fallers columns, but I wish you would not always confine yourself to 3 of each. Sometimes (many times) there are more guys deserving a mention in one category or the other, and I like the way you write, so i wish you would go more in-depth about other players who showed improvement or those whose performance disappointed.
Hey! I really appreciate the feedback. I’ve always thought the 3 risers, 3 fallers format is a good way to balance criticism with praise. I think sometimes it also forces me to really look deep to try and find positives in very negative performances or vice versa.
I will say though that when watching the first half of this live, I was heavily considering just doing six fallers.
I’ll definitely be taking what you said into account. Thank you!
I very much appreciate you and others finding and highlighting some positives. There is way too much emphasis on negativity, and despite there being all too many reasons for negative thoughts when the team puts out such poor performances overall, we diehard fans of the team are always lookng for and appreciating public comments including some positives to hang onto, like you provide in your Risers and Fallers posts. And the last few games of the season do matter, if not in the standings, at least for those of us who try hard to find enjoyment in watching our team competing on the field.