The Storm Rolls In, and Atlanta United's Season Fades Out

Starting Lineup

Hurricane Isaias brought stormy weather to Atlanta on Saturday, but the greater damage to Atlanta United’s season came inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A 3-1 defeat to FC Cincinnati left Atlanta’s playoff hopes fading and the remaining supporters booing at the final whistle. With the regular season running out, it felt like the beginning of the end.

The club celebrated Latin Heritage Night, with performers scattered throughout the stadium and the starting lineups announced in Spanish. The supporters’ section unveiled its first tifo in quite some time and observed a moment of silence between the third and fourth minutes in memory of former Footie Mob member Macaroni Tony. There was plenty happening around the pitch to make the evening memorable.

Unfortunately, the soccer did not live up to the occasion. Neither team played particularly well, but Atlanta was especially disappointing. The home side began with a recognizable plan, moving possession across the pitch and looking for openings. That approach lasted about 15 minutes before the players began relying on individual efforts. Cincinnati took advantage of Atlanta’s mistakes, while Tata Martino waited far too long to make changes. By the time the visitors scored their third goal in stoppage time, supporters were already heading for the exits.

1st Half

Atlanta began by moving the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, trying to keep possession away from Cincinnati. The approach created an early opportunity when Galoppo pushed forward on a break, and was brought down from behind by Hadebe. The Cincinnati defender received a yellow card just two minutes into the match.

A few minutes later, Jacob, Almirón, and Galoppo worked a series of quick triangular passes down the right side. Jacob carried the ball into the corner, but his cross couldn’t get past the first defender. Atlanta came forward again when Báez released Muyumba down the left. Muyumba carried the ball all the way to the goal line before cutting it back to Almirón near the top of the box. Almirón struck the bouncing ball on the volley, sending it wide of the left post. The attempt got the crowd excited, although it was another promising attack that ended without a shot on target.

In the 11th minute, Atlanta sent a long ball over Cincinnati’s back line. Almirón raced onto it and went down inside the penalty area, apparently hoping to convince the refthat he had been tripped from behind. Bazakos wasn’t interested. Almirón stayed on the ground long enough that the referee eventually walked over and told him to get up.

The early passing combinations began disappearing and both teams struggled to keep possession. Cincinnati sent a high, bouncing ball into Atlanta’s penalty area, bringing Hoyos off his line. The Cincinnati striker also went for it, but Báez rushed back and bumped him out hard out of the way. Atlanta then put together another attack when Almirón carried the ball into the box and attempted to find Muyumba. The pass was a little too far ahead, allowing goalkeeper Evan Louro to reach it first. The ball bounced back toward Galoppo near the top of the penalty area, and he struck a powerful shot that was blocked behind for a corner.

Amaro continued moving possession across the pitch, but Atlanta was finding it increasingly difficult to advance. Almirón made a good defensive recovery, stealing possession in central midfield and quickly releasing Embolo, who was brought down. Those moments were becoming less frequent as Cincinnati began spending more time in Atlanta’s half.

By the half-hour mark, Cincinnati was getting a series of shots away. Alonso blocked an attempt inside the penalty area, and the follow-up sailed into the stands. Báez continued to read attacks well on Atlanta’s left, repeatedly shutting down Cincinnati’s attempts to advance past him. The defenders were generally keeping Cincinnati from getting clear looks at Hoyos, but Atlanta couldn’t get the ball out of its own half.

That finally changed in the 35th minute when several Atlanta players broke forward together. Jacob advanced down the right and sent another cross toward the penalty area. Almirón and Embolo were waiting, but the delivery couldn’t reach either of them. It was already a familiar pattern on the night, with Jacob repeatedly getting into good positions but failing to deliver a useful cross.

Atlanta created some excitement in the closing minutes when Embolo played the ball forward to Jacob inside Cincinnati’s box. Jacob tapped it back toward Muyumba, whose weak effort was stopped by Louro. The goalkeeper also prevented Atlanta from scoring on the follow-up. It was one of the few sequences where Atlanta managed to get several players involved around Cincinnati’s goal.

Just before halftime, Almirón sent Jacob down the right again. Former Atlanta defender Miles Robinson rushed over to challenge him, and both players went sliding to the ground near the corner. Jacob received a yellow card following the exchange. Having entered the match one caution away from suspension, he will now miss Atlanta’s next game.

The referee added no stoppage time, bringing a frustrating half to a swift end. Atlanta had managed three shots on target, but hadn’t seriously troubled Louro. For all the running and effort, the players headed to the locker room with little to show for it.

2nd Half

Atlanta came out of halftime playing the same as it had finished the first half. The defenders slowly passed the ball back and forth, looking for a way forward.

Galoppo had space outside the penalty area and took a shot. He leaned back as he struck the ball, forcing Evan Louro to make a good save. It felt like Atlanta’s first serious attempt of the evening.

Atlanta’s defense came completely undone in the 52nd minute. Kévin Denkey charged into the penalty area, with Mihaj racing back to stop him. The defender threw himself in front of Denkey as Hoyos rushed out to challenge. Neither could get the ball away from the Cincinnati striker. Denkey kept his composure, shifted left to get around both players, and calmly fired into the open net. Cincinnati had the lead with its first shot on target.

Martino responded by bringing on Alexey Miranchuk for Jay Fortune in the 56th minute. Miranchuk moved to the right side of Atlanta’s attack, while Almirón switched to the left.

Denkey raced into Atlanta’s penalty area again, with Hoyos coming out to challenge and Alonso chasing him down. Denkey tried to slip the ball between the keeper’s legs, but it bounced off Hoyos’ feet and chipped towards goal. Alonso, facing goal, managed to get his head to the ball, sending it over the crossbar to prevent a second Cincinnati goal.

A hard Cincinnati cross came into Atlanta’s box, but Hoyos plucked it out of the air before Da Silva Ferreira could reach it. Hoyos immediately launched a long ball toward Almirón on the left. Miguel deftly danced past his defender and drove a cross toward Embolo, who was charging toward goal. Whether the delivery was misplaced or took a deflection was difficult to tell, but the ball ended up behind Embolo. What should have been an easy tap-in became yet another wasted opportunity.

Jacob made an excellent sliding tackle in the 63rd minute to prevent another Cincinnati cross. He and his opponent, Flores, shared a laugh and shook hands afterward.

Ten minutes after Miranchuk’s introduction, Atlanta still looked completely out of ideas. The substitution had done little to improve the attack. It wasn’t until the 68th minute that Atlanta began making progress into Cincinnati’s final third, with the team still trailing 1-0. Báez sent a cross into the penalty area from the left. Almirón collected the ball near the top of the box, with Embolo, three Cincinnati defenders, and Louro between him and the goal. Miguel attempted to shoot through the crowd, but his effort struck Embolo and bounced straight back to him. He parried to his right, waited just long enough for an opening, and fired through the defenders into the net. Embolo was credited with the assist, although he probably knew very little about it. Atlanta was level at 1-1.

The goal lifted the atmosphere inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta started playing with more confidence, pushing Cincinnati back and getting players forward. For the next ten minutes, it felt as though Atlanta could go on to win the match.

Cincinnati began deliberately slowing the match, trying to break up Atlanta’s momentum. When yet another Cincy player went to ground in the 78th minute, Muyumba approached him and pleaded for him to get up and leave the pitch. Alonso was equally frustrated, taking his complaints to the assistant referee. It was intelligent game management by Cincinnati, and it worked. Atlanta’s growing momentum was interrupted, and the visitors had time to regroup.

Cincinnati’s pressure suddenly intensified, and Atlanta couldn’t get the ball out of its own half. The defenders desperately tried to clear, but their blind kicks repeatedly went straight back to Cincinnati players. In the 84th, Barlow collected the ball on the right side of the box and drove a shot across goal toward the far corner. Hoyos managed to get a hand to it, but the ball sailed into the far side of the net. Cincinnati was back in front, 2-1.

Only then did Martino make his next subs, bringing on Cooper Sanchez and Fafà Picault to replace Muyumba and Galoppo. Cincinnati used all five of its substitutions eight minutes earlier.

Picault curled a clever ball toward Almirón, who met it first-time and sent his effort just wide of the right post.

Báez appeared to twist his ankle when he landed awkwardly in the 90th minute. He glanced toward Atlanta’s bench but still managed to fight off a challenge before being replaced in stoppage time by Santos, whose bright red hair was impossible to miss.

Santos was barely on the pitch before finding himself in the middle of a confrontation, when Anunga fouled him near midfield. Amaro came charging in hard and shoved the Cincinnati player to the ground. Barlow and Amaro both received yellows.

Picault curled a ball toward goal from inside the box, but a Cincinnati defender knocked it away. Cincinnati countered down Atlanta’s left, only for Mihaj to read the danger, race back, and strip the ball away. Picault then switched the ball across to Santos on the right. Almirón was waiting for the cross, but Santos took too long to deliver it. Another chance goes begging.

Cincinnati took a corner deep into stoppage time. Atlanta gave the visitors enough time and space to casually move the ball across the pitch, seemingly unable to stop them. Barlow slipped a through ball to Denkey, who struck it hard with his first touch, beating Hoyos for his second goal of the night. Supporters flooded for the exits with the net still rippling.

The remaining crowd booed at the final whistle.

Closing Thoughts

Atlanta United had more possession, completed more passes, and took more shots than Cincinnati. None of it ensured a convincing performance. Atlanta finished with 56.2% possession and 15 shots. Cincinnati created the better chances. The visitors finished with 1.89 expected goals to Atlanta’s 1.10. Watching the match, those numbers made sense. Atlanta spent too much time moving the ball without accomplishing anything.

The most frustrating part was how quickly Atlanta abandoned its early approach. For the first 15 minutes, the players worked together to move possession across the pitch and get forward. Then the passing deteriorated, and the team began relying on individual efforts. Almirón continued running and trying to make things happen, but too often the attacks ended with a poor pass, an ineffective cross, or a loss of possession. Embolo was almost invisible when Atlanta needed its center forward most. He finished with just one shot and 30 touches.

Martino deserves criticism for waiting so long to make changes. Cincinnati had used all five substitutions by the 78th minute, by which time Atlanta had made only one. It was clear well before then that Atlanta’s midfield was struggling and the players were tiring. Sanchez and Picault finally entered in the 86th minute, after Cincinnati had regained the lead. Both brought something useful to the match, but neither had enough time to make much of a difference. Atlanta needed those changes at least ten minutes earlier.

There were some good individual performances. Báez defended well for much of the evening, Amaro provided a useful presence in midfield, and Almirón’s equalizer briefly gave Atlanta a chance to win. For about ten minutes after the goal, the momentum was turning in the right direction. Then against the run of play, Atlanta gifted Cincinnati their second. Atlanta couldn’t clear its lines, repeatedly surrendered possession, and allowed Barlow to put the visitors back in front.

When Denkey scored Cincinnati’s third in stoppage, supporters immediately began leaving Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The remaining crowd booed at the final whistle. It was a fitting reaction to another frustrating home performance, especially on an evening when the club had put so much effort into the Latin Heritage Night festivities.

When asked what needs to be sharper moving forward, Muyumba responded:

Atlanta’s season isn’t mathematically over, but it’s becoming difficult to see how this team can turn things around. The same problems keep appearing, and there has been little evidence of meaningful improvement. With the regular season running out, Saturday’s defeat felt like more than another three points dropped. It felt like the end.

Atlanta’s individual performances are covered here.

Player Impressions: ATLUTD 1-3 Cincinnati

Almirón gave Atlanta hope with a second-half equalizer, but defensive mistakes and another ineffective attacking performance left Atlanta with a 3-1 defeat.

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