In Atlanta United's do-or-die playoff match with Inter Miami, the five stripes played some of their best soccer all year. And importantly, they did so for the vast majority of the game. There have been flashes of brilliance from Atlanta across the season but it never lasted more than 5 or 10 minutes, until last night when the defense shut down Messi and co. for 90 minutes and the midfield was finally willing and capable of holding onto possession outside of their penalty box.
It was definitely not a flawless game, even ignoring the Brad Guzan goal weirdness there were errant passes and botched opportunities all over the place, but it was easily one of the best performances of the year and one when it mattered most. Dax McCarty expertly orchestrated the midfield and shut down the spaces in between the defense and midfield that Messi has been known to feast upon in the past. Luis Abram and Ronald Hernandez really stepped up and filled the gaps left by unfortunate injuries to Stian Gregersen and Brooks Lennon. And Xande Silva came in and got the job done in stoppage time in only his 3rd appearance since August. And what a way of putting away Atlanta's obnoxious little brother it was:
If that doesn't just make you happy, I don't know what does. The play featured a successful high press by Alexey Miranchuk and Daniel Rios before a quick set of passes to find Xande open at the top of the box with only the keeper to beat. Then Xande did that.
While the stoppage-time winner will rightly live long in the memories of fans, Derrick Williams' leveler was arguably a more important goal. Atlanta had been attacking and the press was once again fruitful which let Pedro Amador whip in a beauty of a cross for Derrick Williams to get his first-ever Atlanta United goal.
This was the leveler. This was the goal that started Atlanta's first-ever comeback win in the playoffs. This was the goal that let all 68,000 fans believe. This was that goal.
The world also just needs to take a moment to collectively appreciate how good Pedro Amador has been since signing in July. As a free transfer, he has now gotten 7 assists, three of which were in the playoffs. That rate of .61 per 90 minutes is the highest of anyone in MLS. And he has been great on defense too, an absolutely phenomenal pickup by Garth this summer.
It can't all be sunshine and rainbows and game 3 in Miami will provide a big test for this team but they have a real chance. For the vast majority of the game, Atlanta was on the front foot and Guzan has been playing his best games in a long time recently. It's a definite possibility.
Now, I'm going to be mean for a second, but man it feels good to watch Messi, Suarez, and Alba rage at their inability to score against a team that shouldn't even be here. Since joining MLS, Messi has only scored and not lost against Atlanta once in six tries: his first game in the Leagues Cup. His only other goal outside of that game was in May in a 3-1 loss. He just can't get it done against the A.
Atlanta definitely isn't out of the woods yet but I am very excited for the game in Fort Lauderdale next weekend. It's been a while but man it feels good to be optimistic about soccer. Let's do this Atlanta!
Comments