The thrilling rematch of last year’s Wooden Spoon final delivered exactly what we expected it would: some very, very VERY hard to watch soccer.
Imagine you’re at the beach and you see one kid trying to build a sandcastle — they’ve got the right mix of water in the sand, the structure is solid and it looks very promising — but then some other child gets jealous and kicks it down. That was the story of Atlanta United’s 0-0 draw against D.C. United. Wave after wave of Atlanta United trying to break down the visiting defense, getting close on a few opportunities, but ultimately failing to grab a decisive goal against a team that literally set out with one objective in mind: don’t let Atlanta United play soccer.
Sandcastles and soothing ocean waves are a great way to spend an international break, but now that MLS action resumes this weekend, I’m going to discuss my risers and fallers for the Five Stripes’ most recent performance against the Black and Red.
Risers
Tristan Muyumba
So far, 2026 has been a serious bounce-back for Tristan Muyumba. He was especially poor last season, so much so that I had him as a faller in more than half of my columns. This year, he’s been different and has taken an important role in Tata Martino’s system of play.
While he’s mostly been deployed as a No. 8 in the past, the Frenchman has played as a No. 6 in the last two matches. I thought he was solid in the 3-1 win over Philadelphia Union, but he stood out even more against D.C. He was ferocious on defense, helping to limit space in midfield and helping snuff out quick transitions.
His quality on the ball was very good, too. In particular, I was impressed by some of the long balls he played forward into the attack, including one in the 26th minute, which found Matías Galarza down the left side of the attack. He played three other long balls that found teammates in the attack, creating some very good opportunities.
If you want to learn more about Muyumba’s role in the team’s system of play and how he helps the team build up, check out this article where Tyler breaks it down after talking to the 29-year-old midfielder.
Stian Gregersen
Is it ironic that — like Muyumba — I have Stian Gregersen as a riser after he was one of my buyout candidates last season?
If you’ve listened to our shows, you know that our main complaints about the Norwegian center back have nothing to do with his defensive ability and everything to do with his ability to stay healthy. He is often injured and ends up missing a lot of time, making it difficult to count on him consistently. For example, last April, he sustained a hamstring injury that was initially supposed to sideline him for three weeks. It ended up being three months.
However, it seems that the club is now taking additional steps to maximize his availability. Gregersen revealed to the media last week that he is undergoing blood testing to help identify inflammation in his body, helping to determine how much of a workload his body can handle on any given day. I also observed the team’s fitness staff helping him stretch his legs after this match against D.C.
His defensive performance against D.C. United was exceptional. He won seven of his nine duels and did a great job of providing coverage at the back, even in some of the team’s shakier moments toward the end. With his contributions at the back, the Five Stripes were able to keep their first clean sheet of the season.
I believe that Gregersen is a top-quality center back in MLS, but he needs to be on the field more to justify the $920,000 contract he’s on. He’s certainly the best center back on Atlanta United’s roster, and the team is more solid defensively with him in the lineup. Hopefully, he can stay injury-free for most of the season.
Matías Galarza
Although this is only his third match with the Five Stripes, Matías Galarza is already shining in the midfield and elevating the team’s play.
Galarza boasted the third-highest expected assists for the team on the night (0.09) behind designated players Miguel Almirón (0.12) and Alexey Miranchuk (0.33), showing the impact that he’s having on the team’s chance creation. His ability to weave through traffic to find space is proving crucial, and his versatility to push wide and, at times, play as a wide midfielder or left winger in certain situations helps fashion some great opportunities.
The Paraguayan international covered a lot of ground and won eight of his 14 duels during the match. He did a good job of helping the team turn its build-up from the back into legitimate attacking threats in the final third. If the attacking trident is then unable to finish those moves off, there isn’t much that Galarza can do about it.
Fallers
Emmanuel Latte Lath
Immediately after the match, I more or less figured I was going to include Emmanuel Latte Lath as a faller. However, it was my rewatch that really confirmed in my mind that he deserved to be on this list.
The Ivorian striker was an honorable mention to be a riser in last week’s column because his decisions were spot-on for the most part. He is a faller after this game because he got his decisions all wrong throughout the match. For example, about nine minutes into the match, he receives the ball in transition. He decided to try taking on the three defenders in front of him, which went about as well as you’d expect.
He didn’t have to do that. A little more patience, and he would’ve had Miguel Almirón running into the box on his right with acres of green space. All he needed was the awareness to hold up play to fashion a very good chance.
Then there were his decisions to make questionable runs at times, like this one in the 13th minute, where he runs all the way to the front post — where he’s unlikely to get a good shot off — to receive a cutback cross from Almirón instead of finding a space where he can do more.
It’s these small decisions in games that end up having a significant impact.
Lucas Hoyos
“But Henry, how can you have the goalkeeper as a faller when the team got a clean sheet?”
Great question. The answer is that this clean sheet had almost nothing to do with the goalkeeper. In fact, he damn near ruined the clean sheet toward the end when a low shot from outside the box by Caden Clark rolled just out of the reach of a diving Lucas Hoyos, rebounded off the post, then went out of play off of Hoyos’ head. When I saw this live, I thought it had gone in and was ready to launch my laptop from the press box because, of course, this is how Atlanta would lose this game.
This was a match where D.C. United barely even played any actual soccer. Their entire game plan was to set up in a staunch low block and just prevent Atlanta from doing anything with the ball. This was evidenced by the Five Stripes dominating with over 65% possession and nine shots compared to D.C.’s 35% possession and four shots. Of the Black and Red’s four shots, only one was on target, which Hoyos saved.
Hoyos continues to make me incredibly nervous in goal. His shot-stopping is questionable, and he’s had some very sketchy moments on the ball. Atlanta United is incredibly lucky that it didn’t cost them in this match, but that fortune won’t last forever.
Elías Báez
Last week, Báez was a faller because he had a poor defensive performance despite doing very well going forward. Unfortunately, he changed the wrong part of that equation against D.C. United.
The 21-year-old Argentine left back had a mere two defensive contributions and won just three of his 10 duels after playing nearly a full 90 minutes, which could be forgiven if he provides exceptional support to the attack. However, he definitely fell short in that department, with both of his crosses missing their marks, including this one aimed at… uhhh… I honestly don’t know.
Overall, Báez struggled to make a positive impact, which is very detrimental when the fullbacks’ participation is so crucial in Tata Martino’s system. I was surprised to see, after the match, that so many of his completed passes were aimed backward. To be fair, part of that has to do with the worrying lack of forward runs in this match, which makes it difficult to be progressive.
I’ll reiterate what I said about him in my last column: I’m not too worried about him, but I’m also feeling less confident about placing him above Pedro Amador on the depth chart at the moment. Hopefully, he proves me wrong.
What do you think of my picks? Let me know in the comments and drop your risers and fallers for this game, too!
#hoyosout
and take ELL with you.