Atlanta United's Costly Mistakes Hand Chicago a 3-2 Victory

Starting Lineup

Atlanta United’s unbeaten home record against the Chicago Fire came to an end Saturday night. The Five Stripes scored their fastest goal of the season, but a promising start gave way to defensive mistakes and another frustrating defeat. Chicago came from behind to win 3-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, leaving Atlanta with just 30 points and a record of 8-17-6.

The Fire hadn’t won in the eight previous trips to Atlanta, losing seven. For much of the opening half, it looked as though that streak might continue. Atlanta had a clear plan to defend in an organized shape and attack quickly in counters through Miguel Almirón, Breel Embolo, and Tomás Jacob. The approach produced an early goal and several promising chances. But Chicago gradually took control, and Atlanta’s mistakes ultimately handed the visitors the win.

The announced crowd of 40,026 watched Atlanta surrender three consecutive goals before Breel Embolo brought the Five Stripes back within one. Like the season, it was ultimately not enough.

1st Half

Chicago kicked off and immediately tried sending the ball long, but Atlanta recovered possession and moved forward. Jacob and Alexey Miranchuk combined down the left, although an errant pass and an overhit cross ended the attack. It was an early glimpse of both Atlanta’s intentions and the passing problems that would follow.

A few moments later, Mauricio Amaro recovered possession and looked up to see Almirón sprinting into space down the left wing. Amaro sent a long ball directly into his path. Almirón cut inside his defender and played a diagonal ball across the penalty area toward Jacob, who was arriving from the opposite side. Jacob drove a low shot into the left corner, beating Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady despite a touch from the keeper.

Atlanta led 1-0 after just four minutes. It was the club’s fastest goal of the season and the earliest goal scored by a defender in Atlanta United history.

Atlanta continued pushing forward. Jacob raced down the right and challenged a Chicago defender for the ball, earning a corner. Embolo later attempted a bike from a cross into the box, but caught a defender instead. Galoppo then had an opportunity to release Embolo into the box, but hit his pass too far. Brady collected before Embolo could reach it.

Miranchuk repeatedly dropped into midfield to receive possession, constantly scanning for the next pass. Fortune occupied a deeper position than usual, while Embolo and Almirón sometimes pushed forward almost as a pair of strikers. Atlanta was looking for long passes behind Chicago’s defense, particularly from Amaro.

But Chicago were starting to figure out Atlanta’s formation and began making in-roads. The Fire sent a high ball over Atlanta’s back line for Philip Zinckernagel, who got past Júnior Alonso. Alonso recovered and bumped Zinckernagel from behind, knocking him off balance just long enough for Lucas Hoyos to jump out and collect the ball.

Zinckernagel unleashed a long-range shot from the left side, outside the penalty area. The ball glanced off the crossbar, drawing a collective “oooooh” from the crowd.

Chicago’s pressure finally paid off following a corner. Jacob headed Robert Lewandowski’s attempt away, but the ball went high and only reached Anton Salétros at the edge of the box. Salétros settled the ball onto his left foot and drove a low shot into the right corner. Chicago was back on level terms.

Chicago sent another through ball into Atlanta’s penalty area. Paulo Díaz slid across to block the initial attempt. The Fire retained possession and tried again, but Atlanta blocked the second effort as well. Atlanta was losing its defensive shape, and Chicago was taking control of the match.

Amaro sent a long ball over Chicago’s defense to Embolo, who held off his defender before passing back to Fortune. Fortune moved the ball left to Miranchuk, but his pass toward Jacob sailed out for a throw-in.

Jacob worked his way into the corner under pressure and spotted Amaro inside the box. Amaro turned and drove a hard pass toward Miranchuk, who had his back to goal. Miranchuk glanced the ball backward to an open Embolo, who hammered a shot straight into Brady. The goalkeeper made the save, but took the shot in a rather sensitive area and needed attention from the trainers.

Chicago continued playing Galoppo physically. Dje D’Avilla knocked him down, sending the midfielder rolling half a mile. D’Avilla received a yellow card for the challenge. Báez delivered the resulting free kick into the box, where Embolo beat the defensive line but headed wide. Minutes later, Andreas Hanche-Olsen challenged Galoppo for another ball, sending him to the ground again. Chicago seemed determined to get under Galoppo’s skin.

Amaro again released Almirón down the left wing and continued his own run into the box. Instead of passing, Almirón tried to dribble past his marks and lost possession.

Atlanta briefly thought it had reclaimed the lead in stoppage. Almirón released Jacob down the right, who then drove a hard cross into the box for Embolo. He ricochet it into the net. But the AR held up his flag. Jacob made his run a little too early for Almirón’s pass.

Chicago nearly made Atlanta pay immediately. Hoyos blocked a shot, but the ball bounced back toward goal with Zinckernagel right there. Somehow, he couldn’t get to it. The ball must have had some wicked spin, because Chicago really should have scored.

Atlanta’s early lead was gone, and the teams were level at the break. Atlanta had a clear game plan, staying organized defensively, and using long passes to release Jacob and Almirón on the counterattack. But Chicago was figuring out how to defend against it, and Atlanta’s inaccurate passing was wasting too many opportunities.

2nd Half

Chicago made a change at halftime, bringing on Anzor Mekvabishvili for D’Avilla. Atlanta initially continued with its approach from the opening half. Miranchuk sent a long ball to Almirón on the left, but the resulting cross was poor. Díaz carried the ball into Chicago’s half and attempted a through ball for Embolo, but hit it far too hard. The ball went past everyone and straight to Brady.

Báez briefly escaped pressure with a nice turn and cutback, leaving his mark behind. He looked for Miranchuk making a run, but his pass fell short. Once again, Atlanta had done the difficult work to create an opening, only to lose possession with an inaccurate pass.

Chicago then produced an extraordinary miss. Zinckernagel moved along the right into the box and sent the ball across to Maren Haile-Selassie, who had an open net in front of him. He blasted the ball over the crossbar. Atlanta were momentarily very lucky. From the goal kick, Hoyos attempted a short pass to Amaro near the edge of the arc. Amaro wasn’t expecting it. Mekvabishvili reacted first and got to the ball, firing into the net. A terrible decision from the Atlanta goalkeeper gifted Chicago a 2-1 lead. The crowd grew restless.

A few minutes later, Zinckernagel dribbles into the box. Hoyos gets there first to blocks. The ball goes behind him to Díaz to sends a pass back to Hoyos. He then reactively picks it up. Ref Rivas spots it and calls an indirect free kick at the corner of the 6. ATLUTD don’t know how to react, crowding the area and trying all kinds of tactics to slow down the free kick. Hoyos gets a yellow in the mix. Chicago calmly waited. Salétros tapped the ball sideways to Zinckernagel, who hammered it over the Atlanta players and into the roof of the net.

Two disastrous mistakes from Hoyos left Atlanta trailing 3-1. Martino responded by bringing on Picault and Muyumba for Miranchuk and Fortune.

Embolo worked hard to recover possession, spun around, and released Almirón through the middle. Almirón struggled to control the ball and pulled it back. Then back again, and again, before eventually losing possession. Loud groans echoed around the stadium.

Against the run of play, Amaro moved the ball to Báez on the left, just inside Chicago’s half. Báez sent a long, curling ball towards Embolo, who was charging into the box. The striker threw himself forward and connected with a diving header, driving the ball past Brady at the near post. Atlanta pulled within one, 3-2.

Embolo broke free again and carried the ball into the box, with a defender on his heels. He was dead center in on goal, then sliced his shot wide right. There was no excuse for failing to put that one on target.

Picault played the ball wide to Jacob on the right, then received it back. He pushed forward and passed to Almirón, who moved the ball back out to Jacob. Jacob took the shot, but sent it wide left.

Chicago wasn’t content to sit back and protect its lead. The Fire sent a long ball over the top down the left wing. Díaz came out of nowhere to take the ball off the attacker, but then lost possession near the corner and conceded a free kick just outside the box. Minutes later, Díaz challenged for a high ball near midfield, getting his head to it before the Chicago player went down. The referee called a foul and showed Díaz a yellow.

Former Five Stripe Andrew Gutman, entered for Chicago and nearly took advantage of another opening on the left. Jacob recovered with a well-timed sliding block, preventing Gutman from getting a clean cross.

In subsequent plays, Díaz lunged in to block a shot. On the second, he ended up on his back holding his leg. He would come out a few minutes later, replaced by Matt Edwards. Martino shifted Jacob into central defense, with Edwards taking over at right.

Martino made his final substitution, bringing on Luke Brennan for Galoppo, who was visibly unhappy about coming off.

Chicago sent a ball toward an attacker making a run down the left. Jacob read the pass and raced across to intercept, making an excellent defensive stop that prevented another dangerous chance for Chicago.

At the other end, Almirón released Brennan on the right wing. Brennan sent a low cross along the six. A Chicago defender reached the ball just ahead of a racing Picault to clear the danger.

Atlanta was throwing more players forward in search of an equalizer. Picault was dropping deep to help retain possession, while Muyumba continued pushing the ball into Chicago’s half. In stoppage, Alonso had moved up to play as a defensive midfielder. At one point, he managed to retain possession while a Chicago player pulled him back. Hoyos was up inside the center circle, collecting the ball and distributing it forward.

Amaro gave the ball away late, allowing Chicago to break. He raced back and managed to get into the box ahead of the runner, stopping the counter and making up for his mistake.

Atlanta made one final push forward, moving the ball out wide before returning it to Alonso. The Five Stripes eventually worked the ball into the box, but Chicago cleared it away. The final whistle blew. Three subs, Muyumba, Brennan, and Edwards, stood with their hands on their knees, visibly bothered.

Chicago won 3-2, ending its winless streak in Atlanta.

Closing Thoughts

Atlanta United finished with seven shots, three on target, and 0.85 xG. Chicago managed 12 shots, three on target, and 1.72 xG.

Martino had a clear game plan built around defending in an organized shape and using quick counterattacks to release the forward line. It worked early, and Chicago struggled with Atlanta’s movement in the opening minutes. But the execution was poor. Atlanta completed fewer than half of its 41 long passes, and too many promising attacks ended with inaccurate passes or poor decisions in the final third.

Atlanta had opportunities to score at least a couple more goals. Embolo had a goal ruled out for offside and sent another excellent opportunity well wide. Almirón repeatedly got into dangerous positions, only to waste promising attacks with poor decisions. Atlanta created enough openings to make this a very different match, but failed to capitalize.

Chicago deserves credit for adjusting to Atlanta’s early approach. Gregg Berhalter’s team gradually took control of possession and created the better opportunities. Chicago took full advantage of Atlanta’s mistakes, putting away two disastrous individual mistakes.

The most disappointing part was how Atlanta repeatedly undermined its own work. Individual mistakes cost Atlanta at both ends of the pitch. Poor passing and finishing prevented the Five Stripes from extending their lead or completing the comeback. Defensive errors handed Chicago opportunities it didn’t have to work particularly hard to create. Atlanta showed enough quality to compete, but couldn’t put together a complete performance.

The loss leaves Atlanta with 30 points and just three matches remaining. The club’s playoff hopes are hanging by a thread, and elimination could come as early as Wednesday against New York City FC. Getting to the last playoff spot would require winning all three remaining matches. Already grasping at straws, Atlanta would still need several other results to go its way.

Realistically, Atlanta should already be thinking about 2027. Both the sprint and 27/28 seasons. Martino has three matches left to rotate the squad, give other players meaningful minutes, and evaluate who deserves a place on next year’s roster. Another rebuilding year appears inevitable, and the club needs to determine which players should be part of it.

Atlanta’s individual performances are covered here.

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