Miranchuk's Curling Finish Carries Atlanta United Past Portland

Starting Lineup

Atlanta United defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 on Saturday night at Providence Park. Alexey Miranchuk curled a well-placed shot inside the far post while Atlanta’s attack pulled Portland across the pitch. Lucas Hoyos and the back line protected the lead when the match became increasingly frantic.

Portland had scored in 15 consecutive matches across all competitions and was the third-highest-scoring team in the Western Conference. Atlanta ended that streak while keeping the Timbers to three shots on target. The win gave Atlanta consecutive clean sheets and extended its shutout run to 193 minutes.

Giuliano Galoppo made his Atlanta debut in a midfield alongside Mauricio Amaro and Tristan Muyumba. His off-the-ball movement gave Atlanta a freedom it has rarely seen this season. Martino allowed his players to exchange positions across the pitch, moving from side to side and between attacking and defensive roles. Portland often had difficulties tracking runners. I had the same problem, keeping track of who was where.

1st Half

The drums inside Providence Park were already pounding when the match began. Both teams opened by sending long passes over midfield towards their forwards. Paulo Díaz had a scare when he landed awkwardly during the first attack and walked to the sideline holding his knee. But he was able to return to the pitch within minutes.

Tomás Jacob split Portland’s midfield with a pass to Miranchuk. Alexey played it directly forward to Breel Embolo, who dribbled into the penalty area and struck a low shot towards the far post. James Pantemis knocked it away, but Atlanta’s crisp passing had produced a first warning for Portland.

Portland sent a long pass over Atlanta’s back line towards Kristoffer Velde. This attempt traveled beyond his reach, but it showed the dangers of his speed on the left.

Atlanta’s positions soon became difficult to track. Embolo dropped into midfield. Galoppo covered ground from one side to the other. Miranchuk drifted inside, and Almirón moved between the wing and central spaces. The freedom gave Atlanta passing options, though it also pulled the midfield apart when Portland recovered the ball.

Portland moved forward with an advantage, but Atlanta recovered in numbers. Cole Bassett reached the end line and chipped the ball back towards Kristoffer Velde near the six-yard box. Velde headed it hard into the ground and straight at Lucas Hoyos. Hoyos reacted, keeping the ball out, but did not appear to know much about it.

Embolo tracked back then let a ball run past him to Galoppo. Galoppo played it forward to Miranchuk, then continued his run. Miranchuk turned near the corner of the penalty area and prepared a hard left-footed shot, but Galoppo had followed him forward and ended up in the way.

Atlanta sent a long ball over the top of Portland’s back line for Embolo. He controlled the difficult ball with his left foot and tried to push it beyond Pantemis in the same motion. The goalkeeper rushed forward and made an excellent save.

The match was chaotic, in a fun way, for both teams. The ball moves quickly for long stretches through both midfields, when it’ll suddenly go over the top of either backend for a breakaway.

Atlanta survived a Portland break after making a mess of its own corner. David Da Costa chipped the ball across from the left wing towards Cole Bassett, who was completely open at the back post. Bassett charged into the six-yard box and put the ball over the crossbar. Portland absolutely should have scored. Atlanta could not get back to cover in time.

Amaro anticipated Portland’s next pass and stepped forward to win the ball. He sent it to Miranchuk, who accelerated into open space. Diego Chará tripped Miranchuk from behind and received the first yellow card of the match.

Júnior Alonso played Almirón into space on the left wing. Almirón carried the ball towards the end line and sent it across the penalty box. The pass traveled above and beyond everyone in the center and reached Miranchuk near the right corner of the box. Miranchuk tapped the ball to his right and leaned as if he would shoot with that foot. He cut back onto his left and sent the ball curling towards the far side. The shot looked as though it was traveling wide, then bent beyond the diving Pantemis and into the side netting. It was a thing of beauty.

Portland broke forward with five against two Atlanta defenders. Atlanta was initially beaten, but several players sprinted back and closed the open spaces. Jacob pulled up after the play and went to the ground in the 32nd minute. He was able to walk off, but his night was done. Matt Edwards replaced him.

Hoyos sent a goal kick up to Embolo. Embolo brought it down with a classy touch, held up play, and sent the ball back to a teammate.

Atlanta scrambled to clear a Portland attack, but the ball squeezed through to Diego Chará outside the penalty area. Muyumba stepped in front and tripped him before he could shoot. Velde sent the resulting free kick dipping towards the upper-left corner, which Hoyos tipped it over the crossbar. Muyumba conceded another free kick a minute later when he brought down Ariel Lassiter on the right.

Velde then tried a couple of cutbacks against Galoppo, but Galoppo stayed with him, took the ball away, and cleared it.

Side note - all games should have bubbles randomly floating past the camera.

Portland sent a long ball over Atlanta’s back line towards Antony. He broke behind the defense and headed the ball back to Velde, who was open and running into the penalty area. Velde tried to strike it first time but sent the shot well over the crossbar. Atlanta had lost some of its magic after the goal. Portland was beginning to read Atlanta’s movement and find open spaces. An equalizer felt close.

Atlanta recognized this and began slowing the game to keep the ball for longer stretches.

Almirón tried a long shot that traveled over the crossbar. He drove forward again moments later and appeared to be kicked as he carried the ball. Galoppo went down off the ball holding his chest after another exchange with Joel Waterman. The two had been getting at each other for several minutes. Ismail Elfath booked both players and warned them that he had seen enough.

Velde and Edwards battled for the ball along the sideline during stoppage time. The ball went out after touching Edwards, who then shoved Velde hard. Velde stepped towards him, and the two stood face-to-face. No foul was called.

Atlanta moved the ball through Portland’s final third in stoppage time, with player after player joining the passing sequence. Amaro, Díaz, and Galoppo supplied several sharp reads and a couple of passes that drew a “wow”. Portland blocked Galoppo’s eventual shot and somehow survived the rest of the sequence to reach halftime one goal behind.

2nd Half

Portland created a quick scare as soon as play resumed. Bassett met the ball inside Atlanta’s box and tried to flick it towards goal with the outside of his foot. Hoyos made the save, though the offside flag had already gone up.

The fight between Velde and Edwards resumed along the sideline. Edwards won the duel and knocked the ball forward, then shoved Velde to the ground with both hands after the play. No whistle. No yellow card. It was suprising that neither Elfath nor VAR felt this was card-worthy. A minute later, after the play, Elfath pulled both players together and told them to knock it off. Well handled by Elfath.

Almirón tracked back to the edge of Atlanta’s penalty area and broke up a Portland attack, getting stepped on in the process. Velde burst into the box moments later, and Díaz rushed away from the back line to block his shot. Lassiter then broke behind Atlanta on the right, but Báez raced back and knocked the long pass out for a corner.

Portland had pinned Atlanta inside its defensive third. Atlanta was now more interested in maintaining possession.

Almirón broke free and dribbled the ball out on a counterattack then played it to Báez down the left. Atlanta chose not to force the move and recycled possession back to Hoyos. Muyumba passed to Embolo along the left touchline. Atlanta kept the ball moving and worked it into the penalty area. The ball came to Edwards inside the box. He hesitated when he should have shot.

Miranchuk sent a long pass towards Báez on the left. Báez headed the ball back into the center for Embolo, who hit a weak header wide to the right. Almirón appeared surprised that the ball came near him and made a late attempt to redirect it with a diving header.

Velde shot from the left side of the box when Portland moved forward again, but Díaz read the danger and stepped up to block another Velde shot. Ronald Hernández then carried the ball through the center, where Muyumba mistimed his tackle and brought him down. Muyumba received Atlanta’s second yellow card.

Galoppo had faded after halftime and appeared out of gas. Cooper Sanchez replaced him in the 65th minute.

The Portland Army’s chainsaw roared as Ariel Lassiter took the resulting free kick and sent it over the crossbar. Atlanta stayed inside its own half and pressed hard whenever Portland brought the ball forward. Players shoved runners, leaned into challenges, and tried to make Portland think twice before attempting the next dribble or pass.

Almirón flew into one challenge near Atlanta’s penalty area and took the Portland player off his feet. Ismail Elfath signaled that he had won the ball cleanly. Almirón looked up, saw no teammate ahead of him, and carried the ball forward himself. Atlanta worked it through the middle and returned it to Almirón on the left. His low shot bounced just over a diving Pantemis’s gloves and rolled narrowly wide. Pantemis climbed to his feet and exhaled in relief.

Atlanta began prioritizing possession over attack. Amaro passed to Miranchuk, who exchanged the ball with Almirón before sending it back to Amaro. Atlanta continued through Muyumba, Miranchuk, and Amaro, moving forward, backward, and from side to side as Portland became increasingly frustrated.

Almirón played a ball into Embolo, who laid it off for Miranchuk. Miranchuk touched it wide to Sanchez, but the substitute struggled to get the pass under his feet and released his shot late. Pantemis still had to dive to keep it out. Miranchuk’s pass could have been cleaner, but the entire attack moved so quickly that he had little time to play it cleanly for Cooper.

Portland started overloading Atlanta’s left side. Miranchuk, Edwards, and Amaro crowded the area and denied a route forward. Portland switched the ball away from them and continued searching.

Velde curled an in-swinging cross towards Fernández as he ran into the penalty area. Fernández made contact but sent the ball wide. Díaz went down after the play and could not continue.

Martino used Atlanta’s final substitution window to replace Díaz with Enea Mihaj and Muyumba with Jay Fortune.

Portland countered, but Atlanta raced back in numbers. Amaro anticipated the danger and broke up the attack.

Portland came forward again a minute later. Da Costa ran beyond Atlanta’s back line and received the ball inside the penalty area. Mihaj stayed with him and forced him wide until the ball went out for a corner. Atlanta defended the corner desperately as bodies fell inside the box. Portland still produced an attempt but sent it over the crossbar. The escape felt more like a Portland failure than good Atlanta defending.

Portland removed former Atlanta defender Ronald Hernández and sent on attacker Gage Guerra for the final push. By the closing minutes, Almirón had dropped into a left-back position and was blocking Portland’s winger.

Portland switched the ball from side to side while searching for a route into the box. Atlanta had every player behind the ball. The pressure produced chances, but Portland continued to fail in the final third.

Almirón anticipated a Portland pass near the end of regulation and raced in front of the intended receiver. He sent the ball forward to Embolo, who held it up long enough for Atlanta to move out of its defensive third. Sanchez and Fortune combined to shut down another Portland move through midfield.

Fernández headed the ball towards Guerra, but Hoyos reached it first and knocked it away with one hand. The loose ball fell to another Portland attacker, who smashed a shot from about eight yards. Hoyos and Mihaj jumped together and formed a makeshift wall in front of it. Portland should have scored twice during the sequence, but the ball somehow stayed out.

Atlanta held on until the whistle and could finally breathe.

Closing Thoughts

A week earlier, Atlanta created one chance after another against D.C. United and failed to score. In Portland, Miranchuk curled a shot inside the far post. His finish allowed Atlanta to collect three points from its second consecutive clean sheet.

Atlanta still has a growing concern up front. Embolo gave Atlanta useful hold-up play and worked throughout the pitch, but the striker did not score from either of his chances. Miranchuk cannot be expected to produce a perfectly placed shot from a six-percent chance every week. Atlanta needs Embolo to begin finishing the chances created for him.

Martino gave his players considerable positional freedom at Providence Park. Atlanta became difficult to mark when those rotations worked, but the movement also left open space when Portland won the ball. The Timbers finished with more possession, more shots, and a higher expected-goals total. Several of their best opportunities came when Atlanta were unable to recover from an attack.

Portland controlled most of the second half, and Atlanta never found a reliable way to force attacks. It instead had a determination to defend. Players chased runners outside their usual positions, contested every entry into the box, and threw themselves in front of the final shots. Portland created enough chances to equalize, so Atlanta needed some luck. It also needed every player to accept the ugly work required to protect the lead.

Portland had 47 goals and was on a 15-match scoring streak across all competitions. Atlanta ended that streak while earning consecutive clean sheets for the first time this season. The performance showed a team that could bend, but not break. It gave additional weight to the victory. More than three points in another difficult season.

Atlanta’s individual performances are covered here.

Player Impressions: ATLUTD 1-0 Portland Timbers

Giuliano Galoppo raised the bar in midfield, Alexey Miranchuk supplied the winner, and Lucas Hoyos protected Atlanta’s lead late.

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