Well, that wasn’t unexpected, but man, we were so close.
Despite a valiant defensive effort, Atlanta United crumbled at the end, suffering a 1-0 loss to LAFC at BMO Stadium.
Ronny Deila made one personnel change from the lineup that fell 2-0 to New England Revolution last week. Saba Lobjanidze came out, and Enea Mihaj was inserted in his place. This resulted in the team going to a back three of Mihaj, Juan Berrocal, and Stian Gregersen. Ronald Hernandez and Pedro Amador were the fullbacks. Steven Alzate and Bartosz Slisz were the midfield pairing of choice, with Alexey Miranchuk and Miguel Almiron operating in front of them as dual 10s. Finally, Jamal Thiare played as the No. 9 up top.
Atlanta sought to play to LAFC’s weaknesses early on, preferring to concede possession and force the hosts to break them down. The back five played in close proximity to its midfield line, leaving little room for LA to maneuver through. This allowed Atlanta to maintain its defensive solidity throughout most of the game, despite LAFC clearly dominating in the attack (15-3 in shots and 2.4-0.1 xG).
Ultimately, the Five Stripes couldn’t quite hang on until the end. Denis Bouanga scored the late game-winner in the 86th minute with a low volley right in between Jayden Hibbert’s legs.
So it was a loss, yes, but it could’ve been much worse. I feel like I have to both give credit to Ronny Deila and take it away for his approach to this game. Making LAFC come out of its comfort zone by not trying to keep possession was absolutely the right way to go. However, for me, the game was lost in the 78th minute when Deila took off Stian Gregersen, who was part of what had been a really solid backline. I think that’s ultimately what came back to bite this team in the end.
Atlanta United sets out on its final road trip of the season next Saturday as it goes down to Chase Stadium to face Inter Miami CF at 7:30 pm ET.
What did you think of the match? Let me know in the comments below.