Atlanta United, coming off the back of two solid road wins, welcomed Montreal Impact CF Montreal to Mercedes-Benz Stadium Saturday looking to capitalize on some momentum. With Montreal being the Eastern Conference opponent directly above them in the standings, the Five Stripes needed the full three points to leapfrog the Canadian squad to 12th place and start digging their way out of the hellacious hole they’ve fallen into. It started off as a bumpy ride, but Atlanta stayed in the game and ultimately went to work to secure a 3-1 victory. Here are the final whistle thoughts from downtown Atlanta!
Momentum
This was a golden opportunity for Atlanta United to take lessons learned from Toronto and Charlotte, couple them with the energy of the Benz, and create an actual winning streak. It didn’t start pretty, but we finally saw a Five Stripe team that found their extra gear and capitalized. It’s one thing to go up two goals and have to hold a lead, but it’s a different beast entirely to go down a goal – especially the way this season has gone – and then fight back with multiple unanswered goals.
It’s refreshing, honestly. It seems things are slowly beginning to truly click for this version of Tata Martino’s crew, and if we’re being honest, taking advantage of momentum is something Atlanta United has struggled to do over the years. The crowd did their part once again, and the team responded in earnest. Just a good day overall.
Silly mistakes
When I see teams get cute trying to play out of the back and it fails, I find it hard to contain my frustration. The sequence that led to the opening goal by Montreal had me seeing red. To be honest, Lucas Hoyos never should’ve made the pass to Enea Mihaj, but Mihaj had absolutely no business trying to play the pass out of the box the way he did. What’s worse is the team almost gave up a second in a similar manner.
And yes, I understand the tactical reasoning behind drawing a team in and opening up space further up the pitch. It was very clear, though, from the opening whistle that Atlanta United’s passing left a lot to be desired. A large percentage of the passing in the opening 15 minutes was incredibly poor, with wayward attempts causing turnovers left and right. Thankfully this whole sequence didn’t end up becoming the story of the match.
Saba Lobjanidze and Latte Lath
These are two players who truly needed to step up and hit the back of the net. Latte Lath’s struggles have been well documented, and Saba hadn’t scored since October of 2024. Latte Lath was the ultimate beneficiary of an absolutely exquisite team goal, while Saba buried two wonderful chances and left a couple more on the table. This one really came down to simple execution and taking advantage of the opportunities that Atlanta both created and were given, something these two have really struggled with over the past year.
Also, a huge shoutout has to be given to both Cooper Sanchez and Alexey Miranchuk, who were both crucial in creating the chances that ultimately led to the goals. Coop is rapidly showing his maturity and worth to Tata’s play style, and Miranchuk has quietly (maybe not so quietly) become Atlanta United’s most important player.
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Let us know below what you thought of the match!
Glad to see them battle and do it for the fans…that stadium looks bare these days. After going down early I had flashbacks to 2025 and almost turned it off. But they didn’t give up and we should be happy to see it.
Again, we took shots…3 went in. Again, we attacked areas of space…led to 3 goals. We were aggressive on the ball…led to 3 goals. Latte still looks like a newborn fawn trying to run and control the ball though…my god. Happy to see him get another goal, but he still has a long way to go for me.
Other reaction is that Mihai still leaves a lot to be desired. We need someone else to pair with Stian
We just need more CB depth, period. Berrocal’s loan ends pretty soon (not that he was amazing) and the team can’t say having FBs like Hernandez is capable of playing CB for long runs…
The goal conceded was frustrating. But a comeback against a bunkering team, holding the lead, and getting Saba and Lath on the scoresheet are all very positive. (And then the pass back to Latte from Alexey showed a team working together not a team looking to be selfish, very encouraging)
Where does Almiron fit in this line up? I mean I guess it’s replacing Saba, so now the pressure is on for him to show up if he does.
Miggy over LL. Alexei as that false 9 if we can get miggy to stay wide on the right and hold that space more often than coming inside. LW looks like a workable platoon of Saba and Fafa for now. LL is late game sub unless they want to try him on a wing but honestly don’t see any quality in his ball handling or passing. Feel like scouts never actually watched him play just saw big goal scoring #. Reminds me too much of Mosquera….All pace no class.
This team is far better without Miggy….
You mention Alexy and Coop, but to me, one of the best players on the night was Muyumba. I can’t even count the number of times that he cleaned up the play and played as the true #6 that we have needed.
You ain’t wrong, he was the buzzing, everywhere version of Muyumba this team needs
Absolutely. I had a theory early on that Muyumba would shine once he had a solid crew behind and beside him to allow him to be creative with his special brand of chaos and hide his mistakes better. Having Stian feature regularly behind him, having feisty guys like Galarza and Coop around him, and no longer asking Miranchuk to pretend he’s fast in the midfield are proving that out. I’ve enjoyed watching him most of the season, because he’s really had very few howlers this season.
That was one of the better games I recall Muyumba playing as a CDM for AUFC. His pace and effort are usually good, but he was actually effective as a disruptor AND played the ball into the attack quickly. I don’t know that I’m going to count on that out of him every game until he shows that with some consistency, but he played a great game on Saturday. It helps when the rest of the midfield is playing well, too. Galarza has been a good performer since he arrived, and Sanchez is on a hell of a run over the last 3-4 matches. Fortune’s return has added another good CM option to the mix as well.
Sanchez’ best game I would say. Saba MoM, Miranchuk with 2 assists. ELL however still way too passive in spite of his goal.
I know Montreal is not a good team, but this team has had trouble even winning against bad teams, so I will take it.