Atlanta United shaken by Real Salt Lake

“The goals we conceded were extremely disappointing,” interim manager Rob Valentino said. “We have to work really hard to score that hard. And I felt like we blew it. Whether it was set pieces, in the first minute or up until the fifth goal, it’s not enough. It can’t be the thing that breaks us.”

Consolations came from a goal from Saba Lobjanidze that levelled the score at 1 in the first half, and another from Daniel Rios that reduced the home side’s lead to two late on.

The loss, combined with other results, dropped Atlanta United (6-10-6) from ninth to tenth place, below the playoff line.

Valentino had no defensive players to start with due to the sales of Giorgos Giakoumakis and Thiago Almada, and the yellow card suspension of Stian Gregersen. Valentino selected Rios, the last healthy forward, along with Xande Silva and midfielders Dax McCarty, Lobjanidze and Bartosz Slisz, fullbacks Brooks Lennon and Caleb Wiley, center backs Ronald Hernandez, replacing Gregersen, Derrick Williams and Noah Cobb, and goalkeeper Brooks Lennon.

About this challenge…

Atlanta United found themselves down 1-0 in 48 seconds thanks to a goal by Matt Crooks. Braian Ojeda dribbled past McCarty as he cut through the Atlanta United midfield. He passed the ball to Luna in space on the right. He centered a cross that either Real Salt Lake player could have received. Crooks won the game. Atlanta United’s only touch before the goal was a header from Williams just after the kickoff.

Atlanta United settled in and started creating chances, including two misses from Rios, who was putting himself in dangerous positions.

The work paid off with a goal from Lobjanidze in the 31st minute, who played a backheel from Slisz to Rios, who, while facing Lobjanidze and moving to his right, backheeled into space to his left for Lobjanidze to run and pass into the right corner to tie the game at 1. It was Lobjanidze’s fifth goal and Rios’ second assist. The goal would not have happened without Silva and Wiley working 1-2 passes to draw defenders and create a passing lane to Slisz near the top of the penalty area. It may have been Atlanta United’s best goal of the season. Five players were involved. No pass went more than a few yards.

Atlanta United kept some cohesion in the first half and played defensively as a team to limit Real Salt Lake to two shots in the opening period. Both came in the first five minutes.

“It’s really frustrating, especially playing a really good team, one of the best teams in the Western Conference, a team that’s been great at home and to give up an early goal and then to put on a performance like we did in the first half where we could have won, where we should have won,” McCarty said.

Valentino suspected that around the 60th minute, with the team playing in difficult weather conditions and this being their third game in eight days, his team might start to tire. He and Real Salt Lake coach Pablo Mastroeni used to talk about the 60th-minute wall when they played in Colorado.

Real Salt Lake took a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute when Ojeda turned and fired a shot from a few yards out. Atlanta United could count themselves unlucky. The sequence began with a corner kick that bounced off and hit Williams before Ojeda scored.

“It was a real headache,” McCarty said.

Tyler Wolff and Tristan Muyumba replaced Silva and McCarty after the goal.

Real Salt Lake extended their lead to 3-1 when Arango was left free at the post for a header back in the 68th minute. Lennon had to defend on two players after almost a minute of build-up before the kick-off by both teams.

Alexandros Katranis was left free on a corner and curled home a shot to give Real Salt Lake a 4-1 lead in the 78th minute.

Williams said he did not think the players were mentally and physically tired after the 60th minute, but he acknowledged mistakes made in defending set pieces.

“It’s about taking ownership of those mistakes, sharing the responsibility for those mistakes, like I said at the very beginning, it’s not acceptable when that happens,” Valentino said. “A knockdown happens on the first one. The second one, the most dangerous forward in the league is completely free. That’s not acceptable. And the third one, it’s just vigilance. So it’s a shared responsibility. The players, the staff.”

Rios headed in a Lennon cross two minutes later to make it 4-2. It was Rios’ second goal in as many games and his fifth this season.

Luna wrapped up the scoring in the 84th minute. Real Salt Lake’s sixth goal was ruled out for offside.

Atlanta United outshot Real Salt Lake 14-12 and the expected score was closer than you might think, 1.9-1.2.

But Real Salt Lake took advantage of Atlanta United’s many mistakes to seal the deal.

“We’ve shown that we’re pretty good at defending as a team,” Williams said. “But we don’t do it enough. We have to play that way for the whole 90 minutes. And so tonight, in the second half, if you don’t defend as a team, you get punished.”

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Atlanta United 2024 Schedule

February 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0

April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1

April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2

April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1

April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1

May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in US Open Cup

May 11 DC United 3, Atlanta United 2

May 15 Cincinnati 1, Atlanta United 0

May 18 Atlanta United 1, Nashville 1

May 21 Atlanta United 0 (5), Charleston 0 (4) in US Open Cup

May 25 LAFC 1, Atlanta United 0

May 29 Atlanta United 3, Miami 1

June 2 Charlotte 3, Atlanta United 2

June 15 Atlanta United 2, Houston 2

June 19 Atlanta United 1, DC United 0

June 22 Atlanta United 1, St. Louis 1

June 29 Atlanta United 2, Toronto 1

July 3 New England 2, Atlanta United 1

July 6 Real Salt Lake 5, Atlanta United 2

July 9 vs. Indy Eleven in US Open Cup

July 13 in Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

July 17 vs NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.

July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.

July 26 vs. DC United in Leagues Cup, 7:30 p.m.

August 4 against Santos Laguna in Leagues Cup, 4 p.m.

August 24 at LA Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.

August 31 in Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.

September 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.

September 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.

September 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

September 28 in Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

October 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

October 5 vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

October 19 in Orlando, 6 p.m.