Atlanta United still can’t beat Charlotte FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Behind goals by Pep Biel and Liel Abada — and a pair of assists by Allan Saint-Maximin, his first two in MLS — Charlotte won its fourth consecutive match at the Benz, beating Atlanta 2-0 to break the Five Stripes’ three-match winning streak.
Tata Martino made a pair of changes to his starting XI from the past few matches. Matt Edwards replaced the suspended Elias Báez at left back while Will Reilly started in place of Adrian Gill.
Charlotte had the better of the play to start, ultimately taking the lead in the 22nd minute. Saint-Maximin raced down the left side of the pitch and fired a cross in for Pep Biel. Biel got a touch to it, but with Lucas Hoyos pulled out of goal, Idan Toklomati was there to follow up with the finish.
Charlotte scored again in the 48th minute thanks to a counter-attack led by Saint-Maximin. He played it into the box for Abada, whose composed finish made it 2-0.
That seemed to wake Atlanta up, as it appeared marginally better in the attack. Ultimately, it couldn’t put one past Kristijan Kahlina, who made four saves on four Atlanta shots. Hoyos stopped two of the four shots he faced.
Atlanta United returns to the pitch next Saturday at Inter Miami, with a 7:30 ET kickoff from Nu Stadium.
Unfortunately just an unserious starting lineup
Well, a return to the “why does it feel like we’re playing with 10 men” days shows the last few games are the outlier