Wow, a decimated Atlanta United lost 4-0 to an almost full-strength Inter Miami on the road? Who could have EVER seen this coming?
With 12 players absent due to a combination of international callups and injuries, some players who haven’t seen significant minutes this season got their chance with the first team. This also means I get to talk about new people in Risers and Fallers! It’s a win for everyone… except Atlanta United, of course.
Let’s dive in!
Risers
Jayden Hibbert
Inter Miami took 20 total shots in this game, with 10 on target, which meant that Hibbert had to make multiple saves to stop this game from getting ugly. Okay, 4-0 is pretty ugly, but it could’ve been uglier.
As has been the case for many recent games, Jayden Hibbert was Atlanta’s man of the match against Inter Miami. The 21-year-old made some very impressive saves, such as this one to deny Lionel Messi from close range.
I’m running out of different ways to say this, but Jayden Hibbert needs to be the No. 1 next season. No questions asked, full stop. I think he’s done more than enough to deserve the job, and it checks one item off the winter transfer window agenda.
With Brad Guzan confirmed to start in his last match before retirement this Saturday, Jayden Hibbert’s season is over, but he’s certainly made a strong case for himself heading into 2026.
Juan Berrocal
With some recent positive performances, it’s time I gave Juan Berrocal some more credit. He led the team in defensive actions (14) and won most of his duels (3/5). Despite not being a particularly pacey guy, I thought he used good positioning to his advantage to try and provide the best coverage he could. I also admire that he’s quite the warrior on the field, willing to go strongly into duels and really fight to get the ball back.
Oh, and he shoved Luis Suarez to the ground during the game, which really warmed my heart.
Additionally, Berrocal hit a couple of good long balls to try and spark something in transition. That’s something that I like to see, even if it didn’t result in a goal this time around.
Overall, I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Berrocal so far. I think he’ll be a good player to have as part of a long-term core, especially if he continues to gel with Mihaj and whoever this team brings in to start as fullbacks next season.
Sal Mazzaferro
You know what’s better than an MLS debut? An MLS debut on your birthday. Congratulations, Sal!
After Stian Gregersen was forced off in the 17th minute with what looked like a pulled hamstring, Mazzaferro took his place on the backline. I thought he did a good job, especially considering he was thrown into the fire against the highest-scoring team in MLS. He posted 10 defensive contributions and won three of his five duels, which, in my view, represents a positive showing.
I also really liked to see him running until the very end, staying with guys like Suarez or Messi when they made dangerous runs into space behind the backline.
I’m interested to see what decisions are made about the first team roster in the offseason, because there just may be a spot for Mazzaferro on next season’s squad.
Fallers
Tristan Muyumba
After a surprisingly long break from being in my fallers, he’s back, baby.
There are multiple reasons I have him as a faller, but here’s the big one.
Muyumba continues to be a serious liability to the Five Stripes, making bad decision after bad decision that usually comes back to bite the team in the butt. In this game, I counted nine different times where he caused the team to lose possession (including the one shown above that led to Miami’s first goal).
I’m not sure what has happened with him, but it seems that the longer Muyumba is with Atlanta United, the worse he’s getting. Even his entering as a late-game sub makes me very nervous. I strongly believe he has to be one of the club’s two offseason buyouts, as freeing up the international slot and almost $600,000 in salary that he’s on will provide valuable tools to bolster the squad heading into 2026.
Jamal Thiare
In this game, Atlanta United ran a two-striker system that I initially thought could be effective. Emmanuel Latte Lath, with his pace, could, in theory, chase down some long balls and give time for Thiare and the rest of the team to get forward and support.
The problem is that this is what Thiare’s shot map looked like against Miami, and I’m not sure which one is worse.
By the way, if you’re wondering which one was that horrid shot that nearly reached the corner flag, it’s this one.
While scoring that goal would’ve had virtually no impact on the result of the match (a match, by the way, that meant absolutely nothing to an already eliminated Atlanta United), I just don’t understand how a veteran striker catches that so badly. We’ve seen him score similar ones before.
This was one of those moments that, to me, was a microcosm of the season as a whole. This is only one of many golden chances that Atlanta United has squandered throughout the season, and had they been more clinical, perhaps they wouldn’t be playing for the Wooden Spoon on Decision Day.
I understand that Thiare is a backup striker, but is he worth the $730,000 (TAM DEAL!!!) in salary that he’s being paid? Keep in mind, he’ll be 33 years of age in March, which is well past his prime. Whether or not to pick up his option year is going to be one of those tough decisions the front office will have to make this offseason.
Dominik Chong Qui
Before I get a strongly worded message in our Discord from Grey or Xylph, I want to preface this by saying that Dominik Chong Qui is young with loads of potential. Unlike Muyumba and Thiare, I believe that he can get better.
Having said that, I don’t believe that he is ready for MLS play quite yet. I think he is a bit rash at times, getting too far forward with little regard for the space he is leaving exposed at the back (especially against Lionel Messi). He just couldn’t seem to mark the runners out wide, whether it was Messi or Marcelo Weigandt, which afforded them space from which to attack.
Diving into the numbers, Chong Qui had just two defensive contributions in 90 minutes and didn’t have many impactful moments in the final third.
However, I do have to give him credit for a few positive things. First, although he didn’t have many actions in the final third, he did get a couple of shots off in and around the box after finding himself in good positions. Also, he seemed solid in tight spaces with quick one-two passes. I think both things are good to see in a young player.
With some more time and experience, I think we’ll see him develop into a very solid player.
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!
Latte Lath could easily be on here. He did nothing in this game. All that money for absolutely NO impact. I think he hates it here and wants out very badly.
You know for Muyumba, I wonder if he actually should be a 10. I don’t know that he’d be a good one either, but it’s less of a big deal when gives up the ball if he’s higher up the pitch, and I seem to remember he’s at his best running around freely and making progressive passes. That might be gone though, just trying to think it through.
I agree with everything said here, however, this was not as good an outing as we’ve seen from Jayden. Granted, he has waaaaay more upside potential than anything else, but we should be realistic in our reviews of this game. He did great things, but he also made a few poor choices.
Muyumba is an absolute liability. I sometimes watch highlights of old games while working and one of them was against Nashville a couple years back. We still won the game, but that clear & obvious pass to Hany was something everyone in the stadium gasped at only to watch Hany push it wide of the goal.
Dom needs more time, but he’s not 1st team ready. I have to believe there are other options out there.
And Jamal…well I think we’d be in worse situations without him (including last year) but he is older, he tends to get hurt easily, likes to flop and isn’t very good on the ball to be honest. Is Cayman better? Not sure, haven’t seen much of him. But if I needed a starting 11 and I had Jamal as an option, i’d take him over LL right now. LL is stealing money from Arthur Blank as far as I can see.
All that to say, I still don’t want to put much blame on any one player (except Muyumba, he’s been this way for 3 coaches) because I still think Deila is our main problem.