Atlanta United fell 3-2 to Philadelphia Union Saturday night at Subaru Park. Despite goals from Miguel Almirón and Tristan Muyumba, Philadelphia scored a pair of goals deep in second-half stoppage time to finish their side’s comeback. Atlanta played down a man for over 65 minutes and built a two-goal lead after Muyumba’s second half strike, but was unable to see out the result.
After a tense opening 25 minutes that saw few scoring opportunities, Atlanta was down a man when Enea Mihaj was given a straight red card for a foul near midfield. But minutes later, Atlanta struck on a counterattack for the opening goal. Near midfield, Alexey Miranchuk headed a ball forward that Fafa Picault got on the end of. The veteran forward one-touched a ball over the top of Philadelphia’s back line that Almirón tracked down, fighting off two Union defenders to get in on goal before beating goalkeeper Andre Blake.
“The same way that you can imagine.”
Gerardo “Tata” Martino on the emotional state of the locker room
Atlanta applied pressure in Philadelphia’s half, forcing a turnover that resulted in a goal. Júnior Alonso found Miranchuk in a tight area, and found Muyumba in space. The Frenchman dribbled into a free pocket and bent a curling shot past Blake for a 2-0 lead.
Philadelphia responded quickly, scoring in the 73rd minute. An early cross was sent in from the left flank that took a slight deflection off Matt Edwards. However, it fell to an onrushing Milan Iloski, who flicked it past Hoyos to cut the deficit to one. The Union continued to apply pressure and scored goals through Neil Pierre and Ezekiel Alladoh deep into stoppage time to secure the three points.
As the team reaches double-digit losses midway through the season, players are starting to feel it.
“I think it’s difficult to explain what happened today,” said Atlanta United captain Miguel Almirón. “I think, despite the early red card, the team gave a great effort. I always say that for us, 100% is not enough. We have to always play and give 200%.”
“This is very repetitive. It hurts us a lot,” said Almirón when asked about feelings in the locker room. “As I say, we had the game controlled until they scored the goals very quickly. It’s frustrating because of that. But we have to take charge of the situation ourselves. We’re the only ones responsible for the situation that we’re in.”
Atlanta United (3-12-3, 12 points) returns to action Saturday, Aug. 15, when it returns home to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face New York Red Bulls (7:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor). All Atlanta United MLS matches are available on Apple TV.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of ATL UTD