Atlanta United at Charlotte FC: Instant reactions from Open Cup round of 16

Atlanta United returned to the U.S. Open Cup after their prior defeat of Chattanooga FC, this time traveling up to Matthews, North Carolina to take on Charlotte FC. The story of the day was simple: Dean Smith put out a very unserious lineup for the boys in blue, while Tata Martino fielded a solid one featuring the likes of Alexey Miranchuk, Fafa Picault, Matias Galarza, Cooper Sanchez, and more. Atlanta, coming off the back off their first road win of 2026 up in Toronto, took the momentum and ultimately turned it into their first back to back wins since they defeated Cincinnati and Orlando almost a year ago. Here are the final whistle thoughts from Charlotte Matthews!

The prime starting XI

I wouldn’t say the full, first choice staring XI is identified for Tata Martino quite yet, but he’s certainly honing in on it. At times, the decision making behind finding that best XI for Atlanta United has been like playing a game of Battleship, just guessing, hitting, missing, and guessing again. One thing’s for sure, though: this team plays better when Matias Galarza, Jay Fortune, Cooper Sanchez, Alexey Miranchuk, and Fafa Picault, Stian Gregersen, and Enea Mihaj are on the pitch. The rest of the lineup is still figuring out if they’re sunk or not.

Every one of those players I named have remained relatively consistent throughout the season so far, and a known constant is much better than guessing. It’s also making it blatantly obvious what roster moves need to be seriously considered as the summer window approaches.

Alexey Miranchuk and Cooper Sanchez

Alexey Miranchuk has been the most effective player on the squad this year, and his ability to play as a false 9 seems to have really unlocked some confidence in his play. I’m not sure what that means for the other two Designated Players on the team at the moment, but Tata can’t afford to move Alexey from where he’s found a groove.

Meanwhile, Cooper Sanchez is simply playing beyond his years. He has a hunger backed by significant talent, which is arguably the best recipe for success in MLS. His tenacious run to score the second goal tonight epitomizes exactly what I, personally, want to see out of the talent moving through this team’s pipeline. Jay Fortune is another wonderful example (and a consistent one), but this match was all about young Coop. He deserved that goal, and I also personally have to thank him for finding the back of the net during a time when Atlanta was bending to a lot of Charlotte’s pressure, and thus allowing me to let some tension out of my shoulders.

Closing out games

That’s two road wins in a row, so bask in the glory. While basking, also contemplate that we’ve learned Atlanta United truly needs to continue working on holding on to leads and closing out matches. Going back to the Toronto match, they nearly gave up their 2 goal lead there. After scoring the first goal tonight against Charlotte, they hardly looked convincing. Even after the aforementioned Cooper Sanchez goal, Charlotte peppered both Jayden Hibbert and the edges around Atlanta’s goal multiple times.

Some of this is indeed game state, and Charlotte needing to score in a win-or-go-home match. And some of it could be attributed to the defensive subs Tata had to make due to injuries to Elias Baez and Juan Berrocal, but I’d like to see a more convincing performance. I know, I’m griping about the defensive work after a clean sheet, but much of this is coming from years of covering a defensively unsound team. Hopefully we get to see more moments where Atlanta United can continue to work on their ability to hold leads because that would simply imply they have a lead to begin with. Baby steps.

Let us know below what you thought of the match!