Muyumba, Picault Lift Atlanta United Past Red Bull New York

Starting Lineup

For the first time since May 9, the Five Stripes were back at an opened-roof Mercedes-Benz Stadium, playing in front of 38,469 supporters. They returned carrying a seven-match winless streak and the weight of a 3-2 implosion in Philadelphia, where the team went a man down, went two goals up, then lost it all in the closing minutes in disheartening fashion.

Atlanta’s return home turned difficult almost immediately when Emil Forsberg put Red Bull New York ahead in the sixth minute. Like last week, the Five Stripes found a way back. Unlike last week, they held out for the win.

Tristan Muyumba made up for his first-half miss with a curling strike into the top corner in the 69th minute, and Fafa Picault headed in the winner in the 82nd. The 2-1 victory was Atlanta’s first MLS win since May 2.

1st Half

New York pressed Atlanta from the opening minutes and quickly forced mistakes. Adrian Gill gave the ball away near midfield in his first MLS start, and Elías Báez followed with a pass straight to New York in Atlanta’s half. Matt Edwards cleared another attack from inside the box, but the Red Bulls kept the ball and came straight back.

In the sixth minute, Julian Hall collected the ball on the left and found Adri Mehmeti near the top of the box. Mehmeti slipped a pass through Atlanta’s back line to Emil Forsberg, who turned towards goal and beat Lucas Hoyos at the near post. The crowd that had welcomed Atlanta home only minutes earlier went quiet.

New York kept pressing. Júnior Alonso played a slow ball backwards to Hoyos in the ninth minute, leaving the goalkeeper little time. Even then, Hoyos was slow to react and waited long enough for New York to get a foot on it. He scrambled to recover and clear. Ronald Donkor then had a shot deflected behind by Alonso as Atlanta struggled to get out of its own end. The Red Bulls probably should have been two up by this point.

Atlanta began finding passes through midfield around the 17th minute. Cooper Sanchez carried the ball forward and connected with Alexey Miranchuk and Muyumba. Gill stepped in to break up a New York counter, and Atlanta came back the other way through Miguel Almirón. For the first time, the Five Stripes were able to keep New York defending for more than a few touches.

Forsberg nearly punished Atlanta again in the 20th minute. Mijahir Jiménez found him inside the box, and Forsberg turned onto his left foot with another look at the near post. This time, Hoyos closed the angle and made a strong diving save to keep Atlanta within one.

Three minutes later, Báez sent a ball into Miranchuk near the middle of the box. Miranchuk controlled it, turned and put his shot on goal, but Ethan Horvath saved. New York broke back through Forsberg almost immediately, with Julian Hall eventually crossing for Jiménez to send a diving header wide.

Atlanta then created the chance it had been waiting for. Sanchez sent a long ball from his own half towards Almirón on the left in the 26th minute. Justin Che misjudged it, leaving Almirón free to run at Horvath. Almirón waited for the goalkeeper to come out before squaring the ball to Muyumba in front of an open goal. Muyumba sent it over the crossbar. The crowd groaned and deflated, reacting as though this was the only opportunity the team would have to score.

Atlanta continued pushing. Almirón moved the ball wide to Edwards, whose first-time cross was blocked. Sanchez later sent another ball into the box for Fafà Picault, but his header went over. The passing was sharper and the movement better, but Atlanta still needed the final touch.

Forsberg kept finding space in dangerous areas. New York played him into the box again in the 34th minute, and Atlanta managed to clear. He looked like the player most likely to punish another mistake, and Atlanta had very little margin for error.

Alonso broke up another dangerous attack in the 43rd minute, and Atlanta went forward again. Almirón curled a long ball into the middle for Picault near the end of the half, but Picault had moved offside before the pass arrived.

Atlanta went into halftime trailing 1-0.

2nd Half

New York came out of halftime with the ball and kept Atlanta pinned back. The Red Bulls moved it from side to side while Atlanta struggled to clear. For the opening five minutes, Atlanta could barely get a touch, much less get into New York’s half. Tomás Jacob finally stopped one of those attacks in the 48th minute, sliding hard into Matthew Dos Santos near the left side. The challenge earned Jacob a yellow card. New York sent the ensuing free kick just over the bar.

Atlanta finally escaped in the 52nd minute with one straight ball through the middle. Almirón chased it down near the edge of the box and reached the ball just before Ethan Horvath. He poked the ball past Horvath just before the goalkeeper arrived, and the two crashed into each other hard as the shot rolled wide. Almirón stayed down holding his groin before eventually being able to continue.

Atlanta was still not able to string passes together. Most of its threat was coming from long balls looking for a runner rather than any sustained movement through New York. Picault began dropping deeper on the left while Almirón moved centrally, but Atlanta’s attacks were still mostly coming from long balls and individual runs.

Adrian Gill collected the ball in midfield in the 62nd minute, carried it forward and found Picault wide. Picault sent Almirón ahead before New York cleared. The whole move looked good. Gill checked his options, picked the right pass and looked increasingly comfortable in midfield. Atlanta was defending better now, gaining control of midfield and finally stringing passes together under New York’s pressure.

Matt Edwards went down after a challenge in the 65th. He tried to continue, but two poor clearances followed and he was visibly limping. Stian Gregersen replaced him in the 68th.

Gill collected the ball in midfield and found Cooper Sanchez, who moved it to Miranchuk. Miranchuk picked out Muyumba near the top of the arc. Muyumba took one touch forward and unleashed a curling right-footed shot into the top-right corner. It was a top-class finish, leaving Horvath no chance.

Muyumba came alive after the goal. He had sent Atlanta’s best first-half chance over an open net, but now he was carrying the ball forward, looking for openings and wanting another.

New York had been playing safe and controlled, but the equalizer forced them to press again. Atlanta sat deeper, ready to counter, but now there was a real sense that the game was there to be won.

Picault headed the ball towards Almirón in the 77th minute, and Almirón somehow dribbled through four New York players to keep possession alive. Atlanta worked the ball from right to left until Báez was open at the back post. His first-time shot was poor and went wide.

Muyumba drove centrally again in the 80th minute and found Almirón near the top of the box. Almirón took a huge wind-up, but New York got in front of the shot and blocked it.

Atlanta made two changes moments later, bringing on Ronald Hernández for Báez and Steven Alzate for Sanchez.

Atlanta won a corner on the right in the 82nd minute. Almirón played it short to Miranchuk, got it straight back and floated a high ball towards the back post. Picault rose above his mark and redirected it back across goal. Horvath, diving backwards, got a foot to it, but the touch dragged the ball over the line. Picault tore off his shirt and sprinted away celebrating as Mercedes-Benz Stadium erupted.

Martino replaced Picault and Almirón with Sérgio Santos and Luke Brennan in the 86th minute, and New York began throwing numbers forward.

New York came down the left in the 88th minute with every Atlanta player back defending. Hall got a hard shot away from the top of the box, and a slight deflection sent it towards the right post. Hoyos launched himself to his left and made a huge save to keep Atlanta in front.

New York won a corner. The kick reached Ruvalcaba at the far post, and he drove a hard shot back towards goal. It struck a New York player on the way through and stayed out. Atlanta had escaped another chance that could easily have tied the game.

Another through ball split Atlanta in the 90th minute. Harper was past Hoyos before sending the ball back into the middle. Atlanta somehow recovered and cleared. New York had come within another touch of tying it.

Eight minutes of stoppage time went up on the board, drawing loud boos from the crowd.

Atlanta dropped deep and tried to kill whatever time it could. Muyumba danced with the ball in the 92nd minute and drew a foul, giving Atlanta a chance to slow everything down. Gill made a huge block in the 95th minute to stop another attack. A minute later, Gregersen slid across to cut out a move down the left, and Brennan followed with a strong block on the right before clearing the ball away.

Brennan won one more foul in the 98th minute and Atlanta was finally able to run out the clock. The whistle came seconds later, ending more than three months without an MLS win.

Closing Thoughts

Adrian Gill walked away from his first MLS start having looked like he belonged there. The 20-year-old grew more confident as the night went on, reading passes and breaking up attacks in midfield. The debut carried even more weight after the injuries that interrupted the last three years of his career.

Martino said Gill earned the opportunity through the way he had played for Atlanta United 2.

Almirón’s assist was the 41st of his Atlanta career, tying the club’s all-time record. Muyumba made his 100th appearance for the club, while Miranchuk reached 10 goal contributions for the season.

New York finished with 58 percent possession and completed 92 percent of its passes, compared with Atlanta’s 85 percent. Atlanta finished with a 10-9 edge in shots and a 1.9-1.3 advantage in expected goals. Both teams put three shots on target, while New York held a 7-3 advantage in corners.

Atlanta remains in a difficult position at 4-12-3 with 15 points, but Saturday finally gave the players a win to take with them. There is little time to enjoy it. The Five Stripes travel to Minnesota United on Wednesday night for their second match in five days.