Atlanta United apparently needed some time away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium to get straightened out, taking care of business against Toronto FC with a 2-1 win. To be clear, no one is making any broad proclamations about this. But it’s defintiely a big boost of confidence to a team that has sorely lacked it.
Let’s get to the ratings. As a reminder, here’s the rating scale:
- 10 – world-class performance
- 9 – elite performance
- 6 – average
- 5 – slightly below average
- 3 – well below average
- 1 – poor in every level
Our coverage of Atlanta United vs. Toronto FC
Lucas Hoyos
Not a lot to do for Lucas Hoyos in this one, as he was credited with just one save. Still can be very shaky with the ball at his feet, but I’m not going to judge him too harshly.
Staff rating: 5.75 | Community rating: 5.2
Elías Báez
Báez returned to the lineup and had a solid showing. He completed 32 of his 34 passes and was second on the team in defensive contributions (8).
Staff rating: 6 | Community rating: 5.26
Stian Gregersen
Another strong defensive effort for Gregersen. What else is new?
Staff rating: 6.50 | Community rating: 6.53
Juan Berrocal
This was actually one of Berrocal’s better showings, I thought. That’s not to say it was perfect. But it was certainly miles better than against Nashville SC.
Staff rating: 5.75 | Community rating: 5.53
Matt Edwards
Had a horrid pass that led to a TFC chance and got caught ball-watching on Emilio’s goal. But those are just two moments in what was otherwise a decent showing for Edwards.
Staff rating: 5.5 | Community rating: 4.92
Jay Fortune
This midfield looks so much better with Jay Fortune in it. He had a key moment in Atlanta’s buildup that shouldn’t go unnoticed (I went into it in this thread) and won the free kick that Alexey Miranchuk put home.
Staff rating: 6.25 | Community rating: 6.8
Cooper Sanchez
Dax McCarty rated Sanchez among his top ten teenagers in MLS right now. Day after day, the 18-year-old continues to show it. Terrific run to help set up the second goal.
Staff rating: 6.5 | Community rating: 6.73
Tristan Muyumba
A well-taken finish for Muyumba as he scored just his third goal in MLS. Good on him for getting forward and positioning himself to be where he needed to be.
Staff rating: 7.25 | Community rating: 7.2
Alexey Miranchuk (Man of the Match)
A classy free-kick goal for Miranchuk to open the scoring and give himself five goals on the season. If he can continue to grow more confident and assertive, he can continue to string some performances together.
Staff rating: 7.75 | Community rating: 7.8
Luke Brennan
Brennan is a breath of fresh air when he is out there. He hasn’t been able to put it together completely, but he offers you more than what Saba Lobjanidze does. He needs more time on the pitch.
Staff rating: 5.5 | Community rating: 5.26
Cayman Togashi
Hopefully, Togashi’s ankle injury isn’t too serious.
No rating – injury substitution in 27′
Emmanuel Latte Lath (27’)
Here’s Latte Lath’s heatmap against Toronto, presented without comment:
Actually, here’s a comment. Let’s address the elephant in the room: our community rating voters clearly don’t rate Latte Lath and are projecting it through their abysmally low ratings. Nearly half gave him a 3 or less, with 3 meaning “well below average.” It’s usually not common practice for me to give any player a 4 or below, but the fact that a $22 million striker is consistently getting sub-5.5s (and affecting the match as little as he has) isn’t great.
Staff rating: 5.25 | Community rating: 3.8
Fafà Picault (59′)
Well-timed touch by Picault to Muyumba to pick up the primary assist on the second goal. He has the potential to be a real impact sub for this team.
Staff rating: 6.75 | Community rating: 6.66
Matias Galarza (77’), Will Reilly (77’)
Galarza came off the bench in this one (likely to rest him ahead of a Tuesday start at Charlotte). A brief time on the pitch for both him and Reilly, but good showings as Atlanta ultimately closed things out.
Galarza and Reilly staff rating: 6 | Galarza community rating: 6.21 | Reilly community rating: 5.85
Tata Martino
Martino needed to make some tough choices with Charlotte looming on Tuesday, including Latte Lath beginning the match on the bench for a second straight outing. In the end, that — and the overall tactical approach — worked.
Staff rating: 6.5 | Community rating: 6.75
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It’s clear by this point I think that almost every “starting quality” player from any point in the past 2 years’ transfer windows prior to the “Tata2” era are going to be overshadowed by… well, anyone getting minutes.
Saba is a workhorse and I have always appreciated how even when the rest of the team seemed to have given up, he never did – but he’s just insufficient. Players like Fafa, Brennan, Galarza, Amador… They’re just better options.
We know the options in the midfield – and at this point, if Jay or Galarza aren’t part of it, it’s not going to go well. On most days, Cooper is part of that equation too. I think there’s still improvement to be made there, but that’s really our only best option for a combination of what we have.
Gregersen is our only CB worth trotting out, and when he’s healthy, he’s THE guy. I’m glad we didn’t end up buying him out because can you imagine how much more depressing this season would be with Mihaj and Berrocal being your only pairing option?
At any rate – we have the info we need to know who is rising and should be in, vs who is falling and should be out as soon as we can find a buyer (or use a buyout, or in Berrocal’s case, be grateful that it was just a loan).
Another “what is going on moment”, as the staff rating and the community ratings all match within less than a point of each other for once. Except for Lath, but just like his matches, he doesn’t affect things.