MLS: Atlanta United stays winless in 2026 in home opener vs Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
- Calum Ewing
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
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Atlanta United’s first match at Mercedes Benz Stadium for the 2026 season would not change their early season fortunes, as they stayed winless by falling 2-3 to Real Salt Lake.
The Five Stripes were in need of some early-season momentum heading into the match with two 0-2 away losses to kick off the MLS campaign under returning manager Tata Martino (2017-18 with the club). In the first match against FC Cincinnati, the club did a solid job staying composed in the backline for most of the match. Left back Elias Baez and goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos impressed in their debuts with on ball composure, while defensive midfielder and U22 initiative signing Tomas Jacob controlled buildup play and nearly got an assist on a long through ball towards Latte Lath that was given away in the first half. Lath did not receive the ball much in dangerous positions, but he often took too many touches or had his attempts blocked by former United defender Miles Robinson. He was denied a clear penalty late in the match due to a tight offside and looked threatening at times, but also struggled with his first touch and hold-up play. Cooper Sanchez and Steven Alzate were individually solid but did not transition well to support attackers settling long balls, which there was generally too much of as the club struggled to break down the home side. Cincinnati just simply created more chances, and after a miss off the post and goal-line clearance by an impressive Juan Berrocal, a 2v1 set up by a through ball from their own half was calmly finished for the 1-0 lead. A late goal off a corner sealed the result, but Tata Martino’s squad had clear positives to build on.
That foundation came crashing down against San Jose. Poor goalkeeping and distribution and a lack of execution on the final pass saw Timo Werner and company blow past Atlanta for a 2-0 win of their own. Latte Lath’s struggles in building up an attack continued, while Miguel Almiron found himself in great positions but squandered them. In both games, fans have seen flashes of the 2018 MLS Cup champion, but his loss of pace due to age has greatly affected him. He even seems less clinical in front of goal, something that desperately needs to change to get results. Overall, a toothless first half with possession dominated by the Earthquakes and a not-much improved second half in front of goal was extremely worrying this early in the year.
Alexey Miranchuk’s return may help with that. The Russian international entered the starting lineup for the first time this season after making appearances off the bench recovering from an injury. He was not world-beating, but quietly did his job and opened up some space in the attack. He started the match as the right winger. The last notable change in the starting lineup was the addition of Tristan Muyumba to join the midfield duo of Steven Alzate and Homegrown Cooper Sanchez, playing as the #6. Tomas Jacob was not taken off but rather moved to right back, as Ronald Hernandez was moved to the bench.
Real Salt Lake entered the match with key injuries to star USMNT international attacker Diego Luna and defender DeAndre Yedlin, a few of the seven total absences. However, after a close 0-1 loss to Concacaf Champions Cup and MLS runner-ups Vancouver Whitecaps to open the season and an impressive 2-1 win against defending Leagues Cup champions Seattle Sounders last week, they were an admirable foe on paper. Leading the line was new Designated Player and forward Morgan Guilavogui, supported in the midfield by left-sided Juan Manuel Sanabria, arriving from Liga MX.
Before the ball was rolling, fans were treated to a light show and tifo that depicted Tata Martino as the Terminator saying “Tata 2.0: Come with me if you want to win”. Unfortunately, the tifo would not fully raise up on its left side, a bad omen for the side’s first half performance.
In the first minute, RSL had their first big opportunity. A quick counter resulted in Morgan Guilavogui having loads of space on the left side of the pitch after the ball was played across. His shot was deflected by a sliding Enea Mihaj and rose just enough to hit off the crossbar and out of play.
After the ensuing corner, Miguel Almiron was thrown the ball and dribbled nearly 3/4th of the field while beating two defenders to get to the endline and cross towards Alexey Miranchuk in the box. Although it was cleared, it was a great spark to swing momentum early after what was nearly a disastrous start.
Six minutes later, Almiron impressed again, turning and playing a great through ball from midfield through the left channel towards Latte Lath. The DP forward ran onto the ball and fired straight into the goalie’s arms from a tough angle.
In the 12th minute, Salt Lake put a good string of passes together and played it to #9 Morgan Guilavogui at the top of the box. His low but powerful strike rolled just wide of the left post.
The next few minutes were highlighted by breakaways. A bad giveaway in the back near hayfield saw a Real Salt Lake counter attack, with the shot near the box blocked by Mihaj. Atlanta’s counter was solely by Miguel Almiron, who controlled the ball, went 1v1 against his defender, and had a shot from outside the 18 deflected.
Almiron would be active again in the 19th minute, finding space at the top of the box after Baez cleverly chipped the ball past his defender on the touchline and played it in. His first touch flicked the ball into the air, and his volley was well-struck but pulled wide right.
Although the Five Stripes looked considerably dominant in possession, RSL’s counter attacks finally paid off. Morgan Guilavogui controlled the ball and played in recent 30th overall SuperDraft pick Segi Solans, who outpaced Juan Berrocal by going around his right shoulder and finding himself in a 1v1 with Hoyos. The Atlanta goalkeeper started diving to his right, so Solans calmly placed the ball in the bottom right corner for the surprise 1-0 lead.
Salt Lake doubled their lead just four minutes later. A ball flicked into the air by an RSL forward was controlled by Aiden Hezerkhani, an 18-year old Academy prospect. After cutting right, his next touch hit Enea Mihaj’s leg. The defender did a poor job finishing the tackle, however, and allowed Hezerkhani to drag the ball back onto his right foot and hit a brilliant strike into the top left corner.
Atlanta United, for the first time in rather shocking fashion, were down 0-2 again. Cue Groundhog Day and a lot of boos from the home crowd. Luckily, a familiar but positive sight occurred in the 38th minute. Slow buildup play led to Cooper Sanchez picking up the ball outside the box and playing Baez on the left. His low cross into the box met the unmarked run from Alexey Miranchuk, who struck a first-time finish curling into the top right corner. When Atlanta has needed a goal, Alexey has been the hero, and the sizable home crowd of 53,862 started to feel like a comeback was on.
That feeling lasted for two minutes. A long ball was played into the right flank by Philip Quinton and controlled by Zavier Gozo. With only Berrocal standing between him and goal, one stepover was all he needed to send the defender diving in right as he cut in left. The ensuing shot curled perfectly into the left side netting, and suddenly the visitors had 3 goals in the first half!
That wasn’t seemingly enough for RSL. Great buildup play on the right side saw a flick back in the box to meet the run of Guilavogui. His first-time strike was slightly deflected into the outside of the net, and the referee failed to award a corner. After that, Atlanta United survived without conceding until the half-time break, down 1-3.
Even more so than against Cincinnati, Atlanta had many positives to take away from their performance. In buildup play, Cooper Sanchez moved to left back while Tristan Muyumba dropped between the centerbacks or occasionally sat in front as a single pivot. Baez would push high into a line of 4 with Latte Lath, Almiron, and Miranchuk, but the latter two had freedom to drift into space centrally. Miranchuk took those opportunities often, while Almiron made many runs into space, whether towards a midfielder to help or in behind. Both actions significantly improved build-up play from the first two games.
Additionally, although Alzate was a clear #8 in buildup play, he pushed up high for the high press off of goal kicks. He would join Almiron just behind Latte Lath, with Miranchuk stepping up from the right. Cooper Sanchez acted as a de-facto left winger, starting in a more central position to cover midfield options. This setup was mostly effective, but when the press was broken, RSL had significant numerical advantages going forward. Add in horrendous man-to-man defending and a poor job picking up runs into space, and Atlanta were in a 2-goal hole rather than the stalemate after their first half in Cincinnati, even though they scored their first goal of the year and looked dangerous going forward.
In the 59th minute, Matias Galarza, new midfield signing from River Plate that Tata Martino described as a left-sided #8, subbed on for his debut and took out Cooper Sanchez. Sanchez was banged up after a clearance was smashed into his head.
Atlanta came out of the half slow, and their lethargicness carried on for the first twenty minutes. Around the 66th minute, Alzate waited too long for a pass from Muyumba in the build-up and saw it won off of him. It was played towards a striker with way too much space moving forward in front of Mihaj and Berrocal. He took a faulty touch, but another attacker was there to follow. However, Hoyos flew out from the net, made himself big, and got his left hand on the ball to push the attempt wide.
Out of nowhere, Atlanta would pull a goal back! A long ball was hit from the backline by Tristan Muyumba towards Steven Alzate, but he decided to let the ball through his legs and meet the run of Emmanuel Latte Lath. He sped past his defender, played the ball across goal, and Alexey Miranchuk slid to tuck it home in the bottom right corner as the RSL keeper reached but couldn’t keep it out in time. After 74 minutes, the score was 2-3, and the Five Stripes still had a chance to earn their first point in the 2026 season.
In the 86th minute, Sergio Santos was subbed in for Enea Mihaj and made his Atlanta United debut. The former FC Cincinnati forward added additional attacking presence in the hope for an equalizer after Saba Lobjanidze was brought on for Steven Alzate just a few minutes before.
Atlanta pushed, but couldn’t create many big chances. Galarza saw an effort hit while in the air go straight to the keeper, Latte Lath headed a ball wide at the back post, and Matt Edwards’ low attempt from outside the box went wide left. A great build-up with two minutes to go ending in a driven cross from Saba was cleared out, resulting in an RSL breakaway from midfield 1v1 with the keeper. Matt Edwards quelled the threat superbly, deflecting the shot towards Hoyos wide (though it was called back for offside). After one more push, the final whistle blew, and it was too little too late for Atlanta United, falling 2-3 to visitors Real Salt Lake.
Atlanta, now 0-0-3, will next play against the Philadelphia Union on March 14 at 3:00pm. Although this was the most entertaining and encouraging performance of the season, the side will need to clean up defensive issues to dig themselves out of this early hole and push for the MLS Cup Playoffs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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