Atlanta United defeated Inter Miami CF 2-0 Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The duo of Luiz Araújo and Josef Martínez each tallied a goal and an assist while Rocco Ríos Novo and the Atlanta defense earned the club’s third clean sheet of the season.
Atlanta opened the scoring in the fourth minute through Araújo. Franco Ibarra pressured Robert Taylor into a loose back pass, which Martínez intercepted before beginning a run towards goal. Martínez turned at the 18-yard line and laid off a pass for Araújo, who took a curling shot and found the inside of goalkeeper Drake Callender’s post.
Miami’s Jean Mota brought down Marcelino Moreno on a breakaway run in the 29th minute, earning his second yellow in a span of four minutes and reducing the visitors to 10 men.
Moreno went on another surging run with the ball in the 61st minute prior to finding Caleb Wiley with a pass. The 17-year-old ran into the box and fired a shot with his left foot. Callender dove to his right to make the save, palming the ball into the path of Araújo. The Brazilian dropped a pass toward the penalty spot for Martínez, who drove a shot under the crossbar for his third goal of the season and his first since March 19.
Emerson Hyndman played a full 90 minutes in his first start since May 29, 2021, and completed 88 of his 93 passes for 95% passing accuracy.
Atlanta (5-5-4, 19 points) visits Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Saturday, June 25 to take on Toronto FC at BMO Field (7:30 p.m., ESPN+, Bally Sports Southeast, Sports Radio 92-9 The Game, La Mejor).
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of ATL UTD