Three Goals, Three Points, and a Lifeline for Atlanta United

Starting Lineup

“HONTE À VOUS” - “Shame on you.” That was the message displayed by CF Montréal supporters behind the goal at Stade Saputo on Wednesday night. Their club was threatening to finish with the worst season in its MLS history, and the supporters were making their feelings known.

Atlanta United arrived with plenty of reasons to feel embarrassed themselves. Four days earlier, Saturday’s 3-1 loss to FC Cincinnati left Atlanta second from bottom of the Eastern Conference, just three points ahead of Montréal. Miguel Almirón had even taken to social media earlier in the week to address the fans. Speaking after the match, he acknowledged that he and his teammates felt ashamed of their results, particularly given the support they continued to receive.

Neither team had much reason to feel confident heading into Wednesday night’s match at Stade Saputo. Montréal was coming off a bitter defeat to Canadian rivals Toronto FC. Despite its miserable league campaign, the club still had a trophy within reach, with Forge FC visiting Stade Saputo on October 21 for the Canadian Championship final. Montréal had shown some life at home, including a 3-1 victory over Cincinnati in September, but continued to struggle on the road. Atlanta has been more successful away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium lately, yet still couldn’t find consistency. Every promising performance seemed to be followed by another disappointment.

Atlanta was without Tomás Jacob, serving a suspension for yellow card accumulation, and Will Reilly, sidelined with an ankle injury. Matt Edwards stepped into the starting lineup at right back. For Montréal, former Five Stripes Daniel Ríos started up front, with Efraín Morales on the bench.

Both teams badly needed something to give their supporters a reason to cheer. Montréal’s supporters had already made it clear how they felt.

1st Half

The match started at a frantic pace, with Atlanta pushing forward and putting Montréal’s defense under immediate pressure. Galoppo chipped a ball over Montréal’s defense for Embolo, who assumed he was offside and causualy followed. He took his time, made a mess of his touch, and got away a poor, deflected, shot. The flag eventually went up, but what if he’d been onside? You cannot just give up on a chance like that.

Atlanta pressed hard, keeping Montréal pinned back for much of the opening ten minutes. Almirón was causing problems, stealing the ball from Jalen Neal before being pulled down. Three shots from inside the box followed in quick succession, but Montréal blocked every one. Embolo had another opportunity from an Almirón corner, only to send his header wide.

After dominating the opening ten minutes, Atlanta began losing control of the match. Montréal pushed forward, and Atlanta’s passing quickly deteriorated. Amaro sent a lazy one-touch pass floating backward behind Edwards. Montréal couldn’t take advantage, but Hoyos nearly helped them out with a bizarre two-handed underhand throw that sailed straight to an opponent. I’ve seen some questionable passes from goalkeepers, but a hospital pass from a keeper throw? That’s a new one.

Montréal kept pushing forward, forcing Atlanta to defend. Díaz made a good slide tackle, but Montréal recovered the ball and forced Hoyos into a save over the crossbar. Báez followed with an excellent tackle to break up another attack. Amaro then intercepted a pass and got a rush of blood to the head. He decided to go on a run, nearly making it to the 18 before walking straight into Montréal players and losing the ball. There were several open teammates he could have passed to.

Miranchuk turned his mark and rushed through the middle. The play continued through Báez, who passed to Almirón. Miggy took a shot from outside the box, but it lacked any real power. The ball slowly rolled toward goal, struck the inside of the post, and crossed the line. Almirón had given Atlanta the lead in the 22nd minute, although Breza really should have saved it.

Amaro got past his mark a few minutes later, but instead of finding one of his open teammates, he tried a shot from roughly 40 yards. It was a weak effort that went well wide. Miranchuk had a better idea on Atlanta’s next attack. He slalomed through the middle, considered taking a shot, then laid the ball off to Galoppo. His effort forced Breza into a save.

Neither side was having much success keeping possession, with play spending long stretches bogged down in midfield. Miranchuk managed to strip the ball away from two Montréal players, then later sent a twisting pass over the top for Almirón. Miggy was through on goal, but Breza came out and reached the ball first.

Hoyos played a short goal kick to Amaro, who casually turned back toward his own net and nearly lost possession. Hoyos’s next clearance wasn’t much better. Atlanta was taking its time over goal kicks and throw-ins, and referee Pierre-Luc Lauzière had apparently seen enough. He stopped play to warn Atlanta about delaying the game. It was only the 35th minute.

Atlanta’s slow pace didn’t seem entirely deliberate. The players looked cautious, almost reluctant to do anything with the ball. Díaz gave away another easy pass, and even simple attempts to move possession forward were becoming a struggle. The game had slowed to a crawl.

Carmona brought down Fortune shortly before halftime, giving Atlanta a free kick. Almirón took it, but Atlanta struggled to work the ball into the box. Díaz eventually sent in a cross, and Embolo hit it with a powerful header toward goal. Breza made a fabulous save, but knocked the ball down in front of Galoppo, who used the outside of his foot to put it into the net.

Montréal picked up the ball near the center circle. Alonso came out of nowhere and knocked his opponent to the turf. Fortune then sent a long ball across the pitch to Almirón, but Atlanta couldn’t capitalize on the one-on-two before the break.

2nd Half

Montréal came out of halftime attacking, with Petrasso making a run down the left. Edwards recovered well to stop him. A few minutes later, Díaz brought down former Atlanta striker Daniel Ríos just outside the box, giving Montréal a free kick in a dangerous position. On replay, Ríos appeared to make sure he got the foul.

The match deteriorated into stop-start, with plenty of fouls. Almirón managed a beautiful one-touch flick to keep possession moving forward, while Fortune sent a long ball to Embolo, who did well to hold it under pressure. Embolo later threaded a lovely pass through to Fortune, but his cross into the middle didn’t come off. Atlanta’s passing was still loose at times, and the constant stoppages weren’t helping either team find much rhythm.

Atlanta had been taking its time over goal kicks since the first half, and Alonso and Hoyos continued pressing their luck. The referee had already warned Atlanta about delaying play, and in the 57th minute, Hoyos finally received a yellow card for time-wasting.

Miranchuk and Fortune pressed Montréal on the right, forcing a mistake. Miranchuk backheeled the ball past Pereira to Fortune, who sent it across the six-yard box toward the far post. Almirón arrived and took a weak shot, with the goalkeeper and a defender both sliding across to block it. But the ball fell to Embolo, who reacted quickly and put it into the net, giving Atlanta a 3-0 lead in the 60th minute.

With Atlanta leading 3-0, Montréal needed to find a way back into the match, but Atlanta could put it into cruise control. Díaz intercepted a pass intended for Montréal’s right wing and carried the ball forward despite pressure from Alexis Sánchez. Amaro then intercepted another pass high in midfield and drove toward the edge of the box, but his poor final pass wasted the opportunity.

Martino made his first substitution in the 64th minute, bringing on Alzate for Fortune. Ten minutes later, he replaced Embolo and Galoppo with Cooper Sanchez and Santos. Santos quickly showed what he could offer, receiving the ball under pressure, keeping possession, and turning his mark to move forward.

Almirón flicked a pass toward Santos, who was brought down. Miggy chased after the ball and sent a cross into the box, where Miranchuk appeared to chest it into the net. The referee called a handball, and the replay showed Miranchuk controlling the ball with his chest before it hit his hand. No Hand of God for Atlanta as VAR chalks it off.

Sanchez then played a ball forward to Santos, who brought it down under pressure, turned his mark, and pushed upfield. Santos followed that with a fabulous pass across to Almirón, who went down in the box. Morales had slipped and accidentally brought Miggy down with him, a penalty would have been harsh.

Hoyos made a relatively easy but important save from a Montréal shot outside the box. Martino then replaced Almirón and Amaro with Picault and Muyumba. Montréal continued trying to get forward, but Muyumba made a well-timed sliding block on a through ball, putting it out for a corner. Sanchez and Alzate were also getting more physical in midfield, making sure Montréal couldn’t simply play through the center.

Miranchuk sent a lovely ball down the right wing for Edwards, who carried it into the box. Picault was wide open, but Edwards sent his cross too high and straight to the goalkeeper. It was another opportunity Atlanta should have done more with.

Synchuk nearly caught Hoyos off guard with a late shot, while Muyumba stepped in to shut down another Montréal attack. Deep into stoppage time, Escobar got into the box and chipped the ball over Hoyos. It looked certain to go in, but the ball glanced off the post. Montréal had one final chance from a free kick, but Alonso cleared it to preserve Atlanta’s 3-0 victory.

Closing Thoughts

Atlanta United finished with 18 shots, six on target, and 2.69 expected goals. Montréal managed nine shots, only two on target, and just 0.37 expected goals. Despite Montréal holding 55% possession, Atlanta created substantially better chances. For once, Atlanta turned those opportunities into goals.

The 3-0 scoreline shouldn’t hide everything that went wrong. Atlanta still struggled to string together passes, particularly during the first half. There were careless giveaways, poor decisions, and stretches when the team seemed more interested in slowing the match down than going for the win. At times, it looked remarkably similar to Saturday’s loss to Cincinnati. The difference was that Atlanta didn’t completely lose its way when Montréal began pressing.

Martino saw a difference from Saturday’s defeat to Cincinnati. While Atlanta still had problems maintaining possession, the team was better equipped to deal with Montréal’s pressure.

Montréal, meanwhile, endured another miserable evening at Stade Saputo. Head coach Philippe Eullaffroy later suggested that some of his players had already given up. Defender Brandan Craig called the performance embarrassing. With the Canadian Championship final against Forge FC approaching, Montréal has considerably more to worry about than one poor result.

Atlanta United could take some satisfaction from a convincing road victory, but it was difficult to forget the opportunities already wasted against New York City and Cincinnati. The team has shown it can compete and produce convincing performances. It simply hasn’t been able to do so consistently.

Inter Miami comes to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, October 17. With Atlanta’s remaining playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the team needs another victory.

Atlanta’s individual performances are covered here.

Player Impressions: ATLUTD 3-0 CF Montréal

Miguel Almirón led the way, Breel Embolo finally found his goal, and several young players continued to make their case as Atlanta United shut out CF Montréal.

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