Atlanta United’s trip to Montreal’s Saputo Stadium was fruitless, as Five Stripes incurred a 2-1 loss north of the border on Saturday. Atlanta’s record is now 3-4-2 and is currently fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.
In case you haven’t heard already, the injury curse is spreading across Atlanta United right now. Do not believe me? Check out our Atlanta section of MLS availability report. I will not list all the players that the team has currently lost.
But with so many players missing now, there was some good news when the squad went down. All eyes were on Luiz Araujo, who started his first game since sustaining a hamstring injury in the season opener against. Sporting Kansas City. Barring the absence of Joseph Martinez for at least a few weeks, Atlanta United’s first attacking line has begun to emerge together.
Just three minutes into the match (!), Kemal Miller sent a cross from Djordje Mihajlovic past Atlanta United goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. It’s another example From Atlanta United’s persistent problem in defending set pieces. It was a problem throughout the game, and some of Atlanta’s most vulnerable moments came from defending from set pieces.
Five minutes into the second half, Marcelino Moreno created a goal from a very small window, beating Sebastian Brezza at the near post.
In the 81st minute, Kemal Miller did a frenzy to put Yukin Torres into the match-winning goal.
Once again, the post-match Atlanta United discussion is mainly about how Atlanta didn’t take their chances while still controlling the majority of possession. With 62% of possession and 12 shots, Atlanta combined 0.69×5 Montreal shots and 1.87×G.
Jackson Conway was in charge of the .18 from xG in Atlanta, which is somewhat of a problem considering he came on as a substitute in the 85th minute.
Thiago Almada was once again the Atlanta United player of the day. He continues to impress with his vision, footwork and passing range. The Argentine led the team with four created chances, 24 passes to the final third, and three dribbles completed.
Atlanta United are now without a win in their last four games, winning their last match in dramatic fashion against them DC United. Three of these last four are losses.
Atlanta United are scheduled to return to action on May 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Chicago fire.
