Unsurprisingly, Atlanta United’s slide continues

Atlanta United posed less of a threat, whiffed on arguably the best scoring opportunity either team had all game and only began to play with urgency after falling behind midway through the second half.

While Atlanta United center back Stian Gregersen stood out with a solid overall defensive performance, the continued offensive torpor hasn’t offered much evidence that a return to the win column is somewhere in the neighborhood, at least until the alignment is complete.

Manager Gonzalo Pineda was given a roster that was often decimated by injuries to key players. Regardless, he was unable to find a solution that could even allow for a draw at home. It may not be the lowest point in franchise history, but it’s getting close to the middle of the board. Injuries have diminished Atlanta United’s hopes of making the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time since 2019, but the way the team has responded to these setbacks has further diminished them.

A boost the team hoped would gain momentum following its US Open Cup win over United Soccer League opponent Charleston Battery on Tuesday, a victory secured on penalties after 120 minutes without aim. This proved to be an ill-founded aspiration.

Not counting the penalty shootout against the Battery, Atlanta United has scored one goal in its last four games.

“It’s like life,” said midfielder Xande Silva. “In life, you have to find the solution to be better. This is what we must do.

Silva talked about trying to find positives.

“To be honest, I’ve seen worse,” he said.

Better days could come with the return of talented striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, who missed his second consecutive match with a hamstring injury, and with the full health of star midfielder Thiago Almada, who came in on Saturday for the 28 final minutes as he recovers from a calf injury. . Pineda, whose club is now in 3-7-4, surely hopes so.

“We are creating chances,” he said. “We just need to be a bit more clinical, and maybe Thiago and GG can help us.”

But we’d like to think that playing without them wouldn’t condemn Atlanta United to a shutout loss.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Atlanta United controlled the ball for most of the 90 minutes, but it didn’t translate into any legitimate scoring chances. LAFC played the balls more aggressively and more skillfully, one of which led to the game’s only score.

Making a play on a long pass to LAFC’s attacking third midway through the second half, Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan had to leave the 18-yard box to head the ball forward, but he hit Los Angeles midfielder Mateusz Bogusz square in the head, falling. him on the lawn. But Guzan appeared to swing his legs to trip Bogusz, resulting in a red card for Guzan and leaving Atlanta United with a man down.

Bogusz’s ensuing free kick in the 63rd minute deflected off the wall, its path towards goal redirected, far too much play for goalkeeper Josh Cohen (Guzan’s replacement) in his very first action in a match MLS championship.

Trailing 1-0, Atlanta United’s play resumed – Almada entered the match as a substitute after the goal, even though Pineda had planned to send him on even before the sequence – but to no avail. The late charge allowed Atlanta United to finish the match with a 16-14 advantage on shots, but LAFC’s victory seemed assured as soon as Bogusz scored given the Five Stripes’ scoring woes.

It didn’t have to be this way. In the 35th minute, midfielder Saba Lobjanidze played a pass toward the goal line near the corner of the box to fullback Brooks Lennon, who touched it in front of goal to slot wide open for striker Daniel Rios.

This could have given Atlanta United a 1-0 advantage and charged the crowd.

But from around eight yards out, Rios failed to make solid contact with his right foot and the ball went wide of goal. It was a brutal failure; even Lobjanidze put his hands on his head, seemingly in disbelief.

When Pineda talked about being “a little more clinical” with the return of Almada and Giakoumakis, this would have been one of those moments where it would have helped.

Certainly, it’s a ball that Giakoumakis would probably have buried in the back of the net. But it’s not a game an MLS striker should miss so completely.

For his sake, I hope Rios gets another chance he can take. But on Saturday, his playing error was just another missed opportunity for a team that collects them by the ton.

Next up are Inter Miami and Lionel Messi on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Miami sits in first place in the Eastern Conference and leads MLS in goals scored.

Perhaps the league winless streak comes to an unlikely end. Or maybe it hits double digits.