Atlanta United regresses in 2-0 loss to Charlotte

Starting Lineup

Hot off a three-game winning streak and a full week between matches, Atlanta United should have been on a high. They should have felt they had an opportunity. An opportunity to show they may have turned the corner on the season. An opportunity to give the announced crowd of 40,385 something to cheer about.

Instead, Atlanta looked like they had regressed in form to not only before the win-streak, but prior to the World Cup break. ATLUTD looked lethargic. First touches got away from them. Passes missed their targets. Players struggled to connect with one another. It was a troubling regression on a team-wide level.

New signings Breel Embolo and Mauricio Amaro were unavailable while completing their visa processes. Amaro’s visa has since been approved, but he still needs to get to Atlanta and regain his fitness. Elías Báez was suspended for yellow card accumulation.

Enzo Dovlo and Andrew Jardines were called up from Atlanta United 2 to help fill out the matchday roster.

From the opening whistle, Charlotte refused to give Atlanta time on the ball. The visitors pressed everything they could and smothered the Five Stripes into mistake after mistake.

Charlotte’s seven busloads of supporters had made themselves heard well before kickoff. They cheered their players through warmups from the visitors’ section and were answered by applause from the Charlotte team. Across Mercedes-Benz Stadium, there were plenty of empty seats and considerably less noise from the Atlanta side.

Charlotte won 2-0 without too much difficulty. Its supporters were singing Atlanta out of its own stadium, while the optimism built over three consecutive victories had been replaced by a very familiar frustration.

1st Half

Charlotte went after Atlanta from the opening whistle. The visitors pushed the ball wide and pressed every attempt to play out of the back.

Atlanta started playing dangerously just inside its own box. Tricks. Short passes. Charlotte closing in. Picault was nearly stripped before Jacob finally blasted the ball across the field to get them out.

Charlotte send in a cross which doesn’t connect for a shot. But the danger was immediately apparent. By the 4th minute, it already felt as though it were a matter of time before Charlotte took the lead.

Saint-Maximin collected the ball on the left and dribbled through four Atlanta players inside the box. Atlanta eventually stripped him and cleared, but Charlotte was getting wherever it wanted.

In the 18th minute, Toklomati broke into the box with the ball rolling ahead for a shot. Hoyos rushed out and just barely got there in time to prevent it. The ball popped loose and Saint-Maximin rushed forward but Atlanta was able to clear. Charlotte would have scored had it not been for a heads-up play from Hoyos.

Atlanta had been pinned back and were only occasionally able to break forward. Almirón sent a promising floating cross into the box. Picault sailed forward in a leaping attempt to head it, but Kahlina grabbed the ball just before he could get there.

Charlotte got their reward in the 22nd. Saint-Maximin attacked Jacob down the left and sent the ball across the penalty box. Pep Biel reached it and redirected it back into the middle. Toklomati was waiting in front of goal and finished with an easy tap-in.

Atlanta started losing its shape while Martino urged the team forward from the sideline.

Almirón finally found the ball near the arc and tried to shoot, but two Charlotte players closed him down and blocked the chance. Atlanta kept shifting around to find a way through. At one point, Muyumba and Reilly were the only two players left on the back line. Then it was comprised of Picault, Alonso and Díaz. Almirón and Picault then appeared together on the left while Sanchez pushed higher.

Picault later had the ball at the corner of the 18. He stood still deciding what to do, then passed it directly to a Charlotte player right in front of him. From that bad play, Toklomati broke the other way. He got past Díaz and tries to twist and turn around Hoyos, looking certain to score. Hoyos dove to this right, got the ball and takes down Toklomati. It initially looked as though Charlotte had a penalty shout. On replay, Hoyos was able to cleanly pull the ball off of Toklomati’s boots. Perfectly played by the keeper, and he again prevented a goal.

Muyumba tried a one-time shot from the arc which went off Schnegg’s back for a corner. The ball fell to Sanchez, then Muyumba again. He had time from about 30 yards, lined it up and curled the ball just over the bar.

Atlanta brought everyone back to defend Charlotte’s corners. They needed the manpower in the box, but it left nobody forward to receive a clearance. Charlotte were able to collect the loose balls and send them straight back into the danger area.

Miranchuk gave the ball away again with a one-touch attempt behind him up the pitch. Muyumba then tried to carry forward, found no path and sent the ball back towards Picault on the left. The pass was poor and Picault lost it. Abada immediately sent the ball back into the middle. Alonso had to do a split to tap it away before Charlotte could finish.

Atlanta finally got a dangerous free kick when Miranchuk was taken down as he carrying the ball towards the box. Diani was shown a yellow. Almirón stood over the ball with a chance to go directly at goal. His shot never made it past the wall.

Charlotte had enough time to break down the left and forced one more save from Hoyos.

Atlanta reached halftime down 1-0, fortunate the damage was not much worse. Charlotte had the chances to put the game out of reach if it were not for Hoyos heroics.

Atlanta was in need of a reshape or change in personnel at the half.

2nd Half

Atlanta came back out without making a change.

It took Charlotte just three minutes.

Almirón tried to win the ball near midfield and instead knocked it directly to Charlotte. Diani passed to Saint-Maximin, and Charlotte immediately broke forward with numbers. Saint-Maximin carried the ball up the pitch before laying it off to Abada on the right. Abada curled a sensational long shot around Hoyos into the far corner. Charlotte had reached the opportunity far too easily.

Atlanta began rushing every pass after the second goal, and the mistakes started piling up.

Reilly did well to win the ball and carry it through the middle before slipping Jacob into space on the right. Jacob sent the next ball across the field to nobody. Edwards was the closest Atlanta player, but he was not even expecting it. Jacob got forward again a few minutes later. He fought through Saint-Maximin’s challenge, reached the ball near the edge of the box and crossed into empty space. His next cross went straight to Charlotte.

Edwards finally produced a good delivery from the left, taking his time and sending the ball across the six-yard box. Kahlina dove forward to smother it. No Atlanta player had made the run. Picault followed with another cross from the left, this one behind Almirón.

Edwards then went down with what looked like a cramp and requested a sub. Martino already had three substitutes about to come on. He elected to make a fourth, bringing on Gill, Alzate, Santos and Hernández for Reilly, Muyumba, Picault and Edwards. Shortly after, Martino used his fifth and final sub, bringing on Enzo Dovlo for his first-team debut.

Gill improved the quality of Atlanta’s midfield and defense. Goodwin dribbled towards the 18 without anyone stepping to him. He took a shot, but Gill stuck a foot in for the block.

Dovlo gave Atlanta some life on the left. He ran at defenders, got a cross into the box and looked willing to take people on. With a Charlotte player in front of him, he stopped the ball, turned away from pressure and still found a pass. The final ball didn’t connect, but the play showed more purpose than Atlanta had for much of the night.

That energy was not everywhere. Saint-Maximin and Diani were left wide open on Charlotte’s left while Miranchuk applied almost no pressure. He looked either exhausted or disengaged. At the other end, Miranchuk combined with Alzate and sent a cross through the box that Alzate nearly reached. The ball came back to Miranchuk, who hit a first-time left-footed shot that skimmed just over the bar and brought a reaction from the crowd.

Atlanta’s shape looked better after all five subs, and Gill was beginning to impose himself in midfield. When Charlotte broke towards goal, Gill blocked the first attempt and then stepped in again when Goodwin came onto the loose ball. Seconds later, he was at the other end, shooting from outside the corner of the 18 and forcing Kahlina into a save. Atlanta still had not found a goal, but Gill and Dovlo had at least given the team some urgency.

Gill continued to play like the most aggressive player on the pitch for Atlanta. When Charlotte tried to break again in the 85th, he recognized the danger, stepped in and took Pep Biel down before the attack could develop, earning a yellow card in the process.

Charlotte still found ways into the box late. Díaz had to contort himself to clear one dangerous cross, taking the worse of the contact in the process. Moments later, Jacob tried to clear another ball and skied it vertically. Really high. It just kept hanging there before finally dropping almost on top of him and straight back into danger. Charlotte quickly worked the ball around Hoyos and put it in the net, only for the flag to go up for offside.

By then, the Charlotte supporters were already singing, “Na na na nah, hey hey hey, goodbye.”

Charlotte nearly added an exclamation point to the win with the final attack of the night. A runner broke free inside the 18 and looked certain to score. Díaz came flying across from nowhere and stripped the ball cleanly off his foot before he could shoot.

The ref mercifully blew for end of time. Charlotte’s players salute their fans who have been loud and active throughout.

Atlanta’s players walked towards the supporters’ section on the opposite end and thanked the fans who remained. Most of the stadium had already emptied.

Closing Thoughts

Atlanta were flat, uninspiring and far too willing to wait for somebody else to make something happen.

Atlanta finished with 57 percent possession, 19 shots and 11 corners. Only three of those shots were on target. Twelve came from outside the box, and the Five Stripes generated only 0.97 expected goals.

Too many attacks died with a poor touch, a misplaced pass, or a cross to nobody. When a player did create an opening, few teammates made supporting runs. There was very little urgency until the subs came on.

That may be the most troubling part of the night. Atlanta were on a three-game winning streak and had a full week to prepare. Instead of looking refreshed and confident, they looked more like the team that struggled before the World Cup break.

For a closer look at the individual performances, see our Player Impressions.

There was little from this performance for Atlanta to carry forward. Martino was just as blunt afterward.

Martino explained afterward that Reilly had earned the start based on his performance against Sporting Kansas City and his work during the week. But Gill’s second-half performance may have changed the equation.

Gill looked like the stronger option once he entered. He was quicker to recognize danger, more aggressive stepping into challenges and more willing to carry the ball forward. On this performance, he has made a strong case to continue getting starts.

The Five Stripes return to action Saturday, Sept. 5, with a trip to Inter Miami. Miami is coming off a 7-1 demolition of CF Montréal, the largest margin of victory in club history.