Atlanta United overcame a two-goal deficit in the second half to defeat New York City FC 4-3 Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in front of 42,518 fans. Alexey Miranchuk, Miguel Almirón, and Latte Lath scored while Saba Lobjanidze was instrumental in the win, recording an assist and forcing an own-goal.
New York City broke the deadlock in the 15th minute. Following a throw-in deep in Atlanta’s half, Alonso Martinez latched on to the ball behind the defense and had his initial attempt saved by Guzan. Hannes Wolf, however, corralled the loose ball and picked out the far corner with a low shot to hand the visitors the lead.
Atlanta found the equalizer just before halftime. Lobjanidze squared a ball toward the penalty spot that skipped by Almirón and found Latte Lath, whose first touch rolled into the path of a charging Miranchuk, where he sent a rocket into the bottom right corner in the 42nd minute for his first goal of the season. It was also Latte Lath’s first assist with the club.
NYCFC, however, quickly regained the lead early in the second half with a pair of goals in the opening six minutes. After a collision in the box, NYCFC was given a penalty and Martinez converted in the 46th minute. In the 51st minute, New York City capitalized on a mistake at the back, and Julian Fernandez played a quick pass to Wolf inside the box. The tap-in was his second of the night from close range to take a 3-1 lead.
In the 62nd minute, Lobjanidze sent in a cross aimed for Latte Lath, but Keaton Parks, racing toward his own goal, attempted to cut the pass off and poked it past goalkeeper Matt Freese at the near post to set the score at 3-2.
Jay Fortune, who replaced an injured Bartosz Slisz at halftime, nearly tied the match in the 70th minute with a curling attempt from long range, but Freese made a diving save to preserve the lead. Less than a minute later, Fortune played a ball to Lobjanidze on the right wing where he left a defender on the ground and sped towards New York City’s goal. He found Almirón in space at the top of the box, but the Paraguayan couldn’t generate enough power on his shot to beat the keeper.
Almirón finally found the back of the net in the 75th minute to level the match, scoring his first goal with the club since 2018. Matt Edwards dribbled down the left wing and found Xande Silva just inside the penalty area. A defender forced him wide, but Silva quickly turned and looped a cross to the edge of the six-yard box where Almirón headed in his first goal of the season and his 23rd all-time in MLS.
Atlanta completed the comeback when Latte Lath netted the game-winner in the 84th minute. Guzan played a direct ball the length of the field that bounced over center back Thiago Martins’ head and into the box. Martins attempted to shield the ball for Freese to come collect, but Latte Lath hustled around the defender while catching Freese off his line and chipped the ball into the goal. It was Latte Lath’s fifth goal of the season.
After the match, Latte Lath said, “I remember one time I said to the guys, ‘There’s nothing to lose. We are losing 3-1, just let’s do something. If they score again, we are fast, so just do something,’ regarding their change of play in the second half. “The reaction was really good from everyone, and we needed that.”
Atlanta United (2-2-2, 8 points) returns to action Saturday, April 5, when it hosts FC Dallas at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor).
-Jon Jones