Atlanta United lose at home for the first time in ten months
Atlanta United fell to FC Dallas 1-2 Saturday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This is the first loss at home in MLS play since they lost to the Red Bulls in May last season. The MLS Cup champions have stumbled out of the gates with just one win and two draws with three losses already, almost half-way to their entire season total of seven in 2018.
The chances were there, a season-high twenty-two shots, but Atlanta was unable to convert the chances into goals. Last season Atlanta lead the MLS in scoring with 70 goals in 34 matches. So far this season the scoring has been anemic. Through the first six matches, they have been shut out twice and only had one multi-goal match, with two goals last week in New England.
Scoring Details
Atlanta United 0 – FC Dallas 1 – Jesús Ferreira 6’ (Michael Barrios) – 6’
Atlanta defender Leandro González Pirez missed a midfield tackle on Michael Barrios leaving the Atlanta defense exposed. Barrios made a 40-yard run from midfield, outrunning a chasing Brek Shea, sending a cross in from the right side that Jesús Ferreira slipped past Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
Atlanta United 0 – FC Dallas 2 – Bryan Acosta (Michael Barrios, Edwin Cerrillo) – 84’
A long pass from Edwin Cerrillo to Michael Barrios triggered a counter that exposed Atlanta, who were throwing men forward in an attempt to find an equalizer. González Pirez was slow to return to his defensive position and the fresh legs of late substitute Bryan Acosta beat him to push it past Brad Guzan.
Atlanta United 1 – FC Dallas 2 – Josef Martínez (PK) – 97+7’
Video review set up a penalty kick in the waning minutes of second-half stoppage time. Brek Shea drew a penalty when he was fouled in the box with a vicious open studs tackle by Bryan Acosta that warranted a red card but was only shown a yellow. Josef Martínez left out his traditional hop and simply drilled his shot into the right corner.
Man of the Match
Ezequiel Barco was the Man of the Match for the second week in a row. Although he did not get a goal, he had two shots go off the goal post. He was impactful with not only those two shots but also seven key passes (a key pass is a pass that led to a shot that did not end in a goal). Barco was also fouled six times, which is just one less than his career high from a match against New England on May 30th of last season.
Squad Details
Midfielder Dion Pereira made his club debut when he replaced Julian Gressel in the 80th minute. The 20-year-old Pereira is a January acquisition who came up through the English Premier League club Watford. He has been getting playing time and impressing with the USL Champion Atlanta United 2 so far this season. He had limited involvement with four touches in the last 10 minutes plus stoppage time.
Line-ups
Atlanta United
- GK: Brad Guzan
- Defenders (4): Leandro González Pirez, Michael Parkhurst, Miles Robinson, Brek Shea
- Midfielders (3): Julian Gressel (Dion Pereira – 80’), Darlington Nagbe, Jeff Larentowicz
- Forwards (3): Ezequiel Barco, Héctor Villalba (Gonzalo Martinez – 65’), Josef Martinez
Unused Substitutes
- Alec Kann, Romario Williams, Franco Escobar, Andrew Carleton, Florentin Pogba
FC Dallas
- GK: Jesse Gonzalez
- Defenders (3): Bressan (John Nelson – 61’), Reto Ziegler, Matt Hedges
- Midfielders (3): Edwin Cerrillo, Carlos Gruezo, Ryan Hollingshead, Reggie Cannon
- Forwards (3): Michael Barrios, Jesús Ferreira (Bryan Acosta – 72’), Paxton Pomykal (Jacori Hayes – 86’)
Unused Substitutes
- Jimmy Maurer, Santiago Mosquera, Pablo Aránguiz, Zdenek Ondrasek
Up Next
Atlanta United hosts the Colorado Rapids at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, April 27th at 6:00 p.m.
Atlanta United FC
