Player Impressions: ATLUTD 2-3 Philadelphia

His best performance for Atlanta. He repeatedly kept Philadelphia out, including an excellent low stop before halftime and a one-handed save against Sullivan in the 80th minute. Atlanta could have conceded four or five more without him. The final score does not reflect how good he was.

Just about held on defensively. He broke up several attacks and kept throwing himself into challenges, but Atlanta rarely escaped through his side. His passing deteriorated as he tired, including a dangerous backpass directly to Philadelphia.

Made an error in judgement that cost the team. The red card looked harsh, but there was no reason to clip a player from behind as the player is moving away from goal. Atlanta spent the next 63 minutes defending with 10 because Mihaj entered a challenge he did not need to make.

Spent the night making reactive clearances. He won plenty of balls inside the box, but most of them came straight back because Atlanta had nobody left upfield.

Barely hanging on during the first half. He struggled with Philadelphia’s movement and could not combine with anyone ahead of him. He was much better after halftime when his job became almost entirely defensive, including an excellent sliding tackle on Sullivan.

Philadelphia swarmed his side and gave him almost no chance to get forward. He still made several important defensive plays and kept fighting after being kicked and knocked around. Looked exhausted by the time he came off.

The game looked too fast for him. He lost the ball in a terrible position early and needed Hoyos to rescue him. He made some useful defensive plays, but too many recoveries ended with Philadelphia immediately getting the ball back.

Much better defensively during the first half, then turned his attack up a level after halftime. Instead of looking for another pass, he drove forward and curled a wonderful shot beyond Blake. Atlanta needed someone willing to take the opening himself.

An outstanding performance. He forced his way through two defenders to score, carried Atlanta away from pressure and worked all the way back to defend. Philadelphia kicked him throughout the night, and he was completely spent by the time he came off.

Useful when Atlanta could combine quickly in tight spaces, including the buildup to the opening goal. Otherwise, too many of his passes were misplaced or overhit. He kept working, but Atlanta needed more from him when it had so few chances to attack.

Worked extremely hard and did almost everything except play like a striker. He dropped deep, connected passes, pressed the back line and cleared a header off the bar. He can help Atlanta underneath the attack, but he does not provide enough danger as its highest player.

Brought energy but not enough control. He carried the ball forward once and drew a foul, but later gave Philadelphia a dangerous free kick during stoppage time. Showed more activity than control.

Made a couple of important emergency clearances, but never looked settled with Edwards on the right. Philadelphia continued finding space on that side, and Hernández was beaten as the late pressure kept building.

Entered to help Atlanta survive the final stretch and made several good clearances. He also nearly scored from a free kick. Did what he could as Philadelphia continued throwing balls into the box.

Entered far too late to show much in his Atlanta United debut. His first touch ended with him being knocked over, and he was soon defending near Atlanta’s box. He received no attacking service and had no real chance to play as a striker.

The change in shape is probably what threw off Philadelphia and allowed Atlanta a chance. ATLUTD defended with 10 men for more than an hour and nearly survived. Per his norm, Martino waited until late to help a visibly exhausted team. His first changes did not come until the 78th minute, and Kovac entered only after Atlanta had lost almost every ability to get the ball upfield.