Atlanta United played to a nil-nil draw against LAFC Wednesday night in Los Angeles, CA. Brad Guzan made eight saves, doubling his previous best from this season and just one away from his all-time club record, and recorded his 50th MLS regular season clean sheet with Atlanta.
After Lionel Messi announced his intent to play in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, fans had to be reminded there was a midweek match to be played. Atlanta United traveled to Southern California to face LAFC with the intent of piling on more disappointment after their Concacaf Champions League final loss to LigaMX club León.
Brad Guzan was the hero of the night with nine saves and faced a heavy attack by LAFC. The home side outshot Atlanta United 22-4 on the night but couldn’t break the deadlock. His first save came in the 22nd minute when a cross from the right side found Matheusz Bogusz at the far post and Guzan came out to block the LAFC striker’s effort on goal. Atlanta’s captain made another crucial save in the 42nd minute, diving to his left to deny a free kick attempt from Jose Cifuentes.
There are games when you don’t have to make a save until the 85th minute and your job as a goalkeeper is then to come up with the save to help your team win or get a result. Games like tonight are probably a little more stressful but they are probably somewhat fun in terms of all the action and fortunately, I was able to come up with the goods.”
Atlanta United Goalkeeper Brad Guzan post-match
LAFC was given a penalty in the 70th minute as Juanjo Purata was ruled to have taken down Carlos Vela inside the box. His penalty attempt was blocked by Guzan which kicked off a collective groan by LA fans. VAR would soon determine that the Atlanta keeper came off his line early so the penalty was retaken. Vela’s second attempt to break the deadlock failed as he skied the penalty kick over the crossbar.
Atlanta’s best opportunity came in the 83rd minute when Caleb Wiley received the ball down the left side of the box and cut the ball back to fellow Homegrown Ajani Fortune. Fortune took his chance near post but his effort went just outside the post.
Atlanta United (6-4-7, 25 points) returns to action when it hosts D.C. United on Saturday, June 10 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (7:30 p.m. EDT, MLS Season Pass, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor). All Atlanta United matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of ATLUTD