Atlanta United handled business at home against the Chicago Fire after extinguishing the visitors 3-0. Giorgos Giakoumakis got the party started with his goal in the first half while Jamal Thiaré sealed the victory with two goals in the second half. Those two goals were the first and second for Thiaré in Major League Soccer.
Saba Lobjanidze put in a top-notch performance on the night and played 90 minutes. He came through with two assists, three shots, and five crosses to show his impact for the club. His assist came just before halftime. While speeding down the left flank, Saba sent a beautiful cross to Giakoumakis in front of goal for the easy flick-on.
I think coming off the Toronto match, we knew we needed a big performance, and there are always areas to improve on, but when you look at the amount of chances we created, whether individually or collectively… I mean, take the second goal for example, which was a fantastic goal, and then the first goal, going from back to front, was really good. Those are moments when you look around and think, ‘That was a good goal.”
Atlanta United Goalkeeper Brad Guzan
In the 64th minute, Atlanta United struck again with Jamal Thiaré’s first MLS goal. Brooks Lennon was flying down the right flank with pace. The substitute Thiaré found himself some space by the far post in anticipation of a cross. Lennon squared his boots and sent a perfect cross to the far post that the Frenchman easily headed into goal.
In the 83rd minute, Chicago Fire’s Carlos Terán showed his studs on a nasty foul on Atlanta’s Edwin Mosquera and earned a red card. With the Fire down to 10 men for the rest of the match, Thiaré didn’t hesitate to grab a second goal. In the fifth minute of extra time, there was a scramble for the ball in front of Chicago’s goal. Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada ended up with the ball and fired a shot that beat the keeper but hit the post and redirected to the opposite side. Landing at the feet of Thiaré, he quickly downed a defender with a finesse dribble, took a few steps to his left, and then fired a rocket to the near post beating Chris Brady.
When you want to win the game, you have to be able to do everything, so I was feeling like I had energy, and have been working to improve my defensive skills this preseason, so I am just trying to do my job, and every game I want to be like that.”
Atlanta United midfielder Saba Lobjanidze
Atlanta United will enjoy the three points and prepare for next week’s clash with New York City FC on Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 PM ET.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of ATL UTD