Thiago Almada and Brad Guzan lead Atlanta United to 1-0 win over DC United

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thiago Almada scored late in the second half for Atlanta United and Brad Guzan was able to recover in a 1-0 win over DC United on Wednesday night.

Almada took advantage of an assist from Ajani Fortune to score the winning goal in the 79th minute. It was Almada’s fifth goal of the season and Fortune’s second assist. Guzan finished with five saves to get his fourth clean sheet of the season.

Atlanta United (5-8-5) earned its first victory under interim manager Rob Valentino. The club faced the Houston Dynamo to a 2–2 draw in Valentino’s debut.

Atlanta United also claimed a victory in their first match without top scorer Giorgos Giakoumakis, who transferred to Cruz Azul in Liga MX. Giakoumakis, who scored 24 goals in all competitions for the club last season, has a team-high five goals and two assists this season.

Tyler Miller finished with three saves in his first start of the season for DC United (4-8-7).

Atlanta United leads the all-time series 10-7-1 with wins in six of the last eight matchups. DC United beat Atlanta United 3-2 on the road on May 11 thanks to a Christian Benteke hat trick. Since then, DC United have gone winless in seven matches. Benteke has 13 goals this season, none of which came in June.

Atlanta United was also missing Bartosz Slisz, who plays for Poland in the UEFA European Championship.

DC United has scored 25 goals all-time against Atlanta United, including 10 in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

Atlanta United remains on course to face St. Louis City on Saturday. DC United will host the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.

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