Atlanta United falls to reigning Western Conference champions LAFC 1-0

Atlanta United and LAFC met Saturday in an interconference match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with each club entering the competition with 99 wins in MLS regular season history. Two red cards were given during the match, including one to Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan, and the defending Western Conference champions converted a direct free kick in the second half to win this round 1-0.

Atlanta United remains in search of the club’s 100th regular season victory — and the team’s first victory since March.

The MLS leader in shots on target was in fact the first to put one on target on Saturday. Denis Bouanga, winner of the 2023 Golden Shoe, fired a shot from outside the box in the second minute which fell into the hands of Guzan. Atlanta returned the favor a few minutes later in the seventh minute. A low foot strike from Xande Silva was on target but didn’t have enough pace to freeze LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

LAFC was quick and fearless in its attack, making 11 shots, four of which were on target, in the first half alone. In the 17th minute, the Atlanta United goalkeeper faced a major test after a ball was passed over to Mateusz Bogusz making a vertical run. Bogusz beat his defender and had Guzan 1v1 in the box. The midfielder took a touch with his left foot and Atlanta United’s big bald wall blocked to keep the visitors off the board for the time being.

Atlanta United had a golden opportunity to open the score in the 35th minute. Possessing their attacking third, Saba Lobjanidze sent a ball through three defenders and into space for Brooks Lennon. The full-back served a low ball on a plate to Daniel Ríos inside the area. The striker made contact, but his shot deflected off target and just beyond the reach of Xande Silva to redirect at the far post.

“It was a really good play, but we couldn’t penetrate as much as we wanted to,” said head coach Gonzalo Pineda.

The match intensified in the second half when a red card was issued to Atlanta United. There was a long delay following an embarrassing collision between Guzan and Bogusz. The LAFC midfielder was running as Guzan came out of his box to head the ball out of danger. The play caused Bogusz to go down, leading to a lengthy VAR to determine if there had been a foul. After review, officials issued Guzan a red card for disallowing an almost certain goal and the goalkeeper was sent off the field.

Atlanta United would play the rest of the match with 10 men. Goalkeeper Josh Cohen, after making two consecutive starts in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, was used as a substitute and entered the match as goalkeeper. This appearance marked Cohen’s MLS regular season debut.

LAFC was awarded a direct free kick to the spot where the foul occurred, approximately 20 yards from the goal. Visitors benefited immediately. Bogusz drilled home the kick to give LAFC a one-goal lead in the 63rd minute. It was LAFC’s first goal against Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“It was just unlucky with that goal,” center back Derrick Williams said. “I think it just happens. When things don’t go your way, they really don’t go your way…the way we can turn things around is to work really hard and earn the right to play and fight.”

In the 81st minute, LAFC was also down to 10 men. Eduard Atuesta received his second yellow card and was sent off the field.

Thiago Almada, who came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute and immediately ignited the spark, took the direct free kick about 20 meters from the goal. The World Cup winner’s attempt was deflected and went over the goal in what was one of Atlanta United’s best chances to tie the game in the final minutes of regulation and the extra eight minutes of injury time .

“We didn’t have Thiago available today, for more than 30 minutes,” Pineda said. “With Thiago we were much more dangerous.”

After LAFC dominated shots and chances in the first half, Atlanta United finished the match outshooting LAFC, 16-14.

Stian Gregersen, the 6-foot-4 center back in the starting lineup, anchored a backline that kept an aggressive LAFC attack from getting off the scoreboard in the first 45 minutes and scoring during the The Norwegian made a difficult tackle on Bouanga at the start of the first half, which led to a quick counterattack from the 5 boards. Later on the 27^th minute, Gregersen made a big sliding save to deny Bogusz another chance.

For his strong play and good efforts, Gregersen received the Golden Spike of Excellence.

“He’s a very high caliber central defender,” Pineda said. “I thought he had a great match. Then at the end he was tired, he had cramps and I had to replace him. But I think he did an incredible job. He is very important for the team, and we’ve been missing him for a long time.”

With a few notable names unable to start, Pineda got a little creative with his starting XI. He inserted two attackers into the starting lineup, Ríos and Jamal Thiaré. Xande Silva and Lobjanidze, both healthy, started and brought speed to the wings. Gregersen and Luis Abram teamed up as the two central defenders. Williams entered the match in the 72nd minute, making his first appearance since April 6.

Starting XI and Roster Grades Atlanta United vs. LAFC Saturday, May 25, 2024