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Villalba opens the scoring before Almirón and Martínez push Atlanta clear in the second half
Atlanta United’s Attack Carries 3-1 Win Over Columbus
Starting Lineup
Atlanta United beat Columbus Crew 3-1 on Saturday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The teams went into halftime level after trading first-half goals, and Atlanta turned the match after the break with two more from its attack.
The win gave Atlanta a home result built on attacking end product. Columbus matched Atlanta for stretches, but Atlanta put more shots on target and got goals from three different attackers.
1st Half
Villalba took the kickoff for Atlanta and scored in the 15th minute, putting Atlanta ahead 1-0.
Carlos Carmona received a yellow card in the 20th minute. Columbus equalized five minutes later, with Federico Higuaín scoring in the 25th minute to make it 1-1.
The match stayed there through halftime. Atlanta had struck first, Columbus had answered, and the second half began with the game still level.
2nd Half
Columbus restarted the second half through Raitala. Harrison Afful received a yellow card in the 52nd minute, and Yamil Asad was booked one minute later.
Columbus made the first change in the 60th minute, replacing Ethan Finlay with Niko Hansen. Atlanta made its first change in the 62nd minute, with Josef Martínez entering for Julian Gressel.
Atlanta went back in front in the 66th minute. Almirón scored to make it 2-1, giving Atlanta its second lead of the night.
Martino made his second change 5 minutes later, replacing Villalba with Kevin Kratz, then Almirón with Chris McCann. Columbus then brought on Mohammed Abu for Artur and Adam Jahn for Higuaín.
Martínez added Atlanta’s third goal in the 87th minute. He had entered 25 minutes earlier, and his finish gave Atlanta the two-goal margin it carried to the final whistle.
The final whistle came in the 92nd minute with Atlanta ahead 3-1.
Closing Thoughts
Atlanta’s best moments still came from its higher-end attackers. Villalba scored first, Almirón restored the lead, and Martínez added the final goal after coming off the bench.
There were useful performances around them, especially from Asad in the attack and González Pírez from the back. The full lineup was not spotless, but Atlanta got enough from the players who most directly got the win.
Columbus had an answer in the first half. Atlanta had the finishers in the second.