Can Atlanta United Get Back On Track?

On May 28, Atlanta United faced off against southeastern rivals Orlando City in Georgia. Despite falling behind on two separate occasions, the hosts took advantage of Cesar Araujo’s late expulsion as Bartosz Slisz levelled proceedings with a firecracker from outside the box. They completed the comeback in the 95th minute as Aleksei Miranchuk served up a delightful lofted pass to Saba Lobjanidze, who chested it down but was unable to get a clean shot off; the ball ricocheted into the path of Jamal Thiare, who raced towards it and dinked it over Pedro Gallese to secure the team’s fourth win of the season.

It seemed to be a much-needed shot in the arm for a team that had struggled to get off to a strong start. Just three days after defeating Cincinnati 4-2, it seemed that Atlanta United was finally getting their act together. Or so we thought.

Atlanta would proceed to suffer three straight defeats – all with a two-goal margin or more – before drawing three matches in a row and coughing up an early advantage in a 3-2 defeat to Charlotte. The Five Stripes looked set to repeat their mistake in their following match vs. Seattle Sounders, taking an early lead via an own goal before conceding an equalizer to Pedro de la Vega after the break. Seattle would grab the advantage in the 95th minute as Nouhou Tolo teed up fellow substitute Osaze De Rosario at the near post. The son of Canada legend and retired MLS star Dwayne De Rosario, Osaze snuck in between Atlanta’s two center backs before nodding a bullet header past Brad Guzan to register his first-ever goal in Major League Soccer.

As the match crept towards the ninth minute of injury time (eight had been initially allotted), Atlanta found themselves increasingly desperate for an answer and frantically recycled possession until Miranchuk decided to take aim from long range and fire a rocket past Andrew Thomas in goal, salvaging a point in miraculous fashion. Atlanta currently sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, 14 points away from the playoff spots, and they face an uphill battle as they look to get their season back on track.

Founded in 2017, Atlanta enjoyed a seamless transition to MLS by finishing fourth in the overall standings and losing on penalties to Columbus Crew in the first round of the playoffs. They took it up a notch in 2018, finishing second in the Supporters’ Shield standings and making it all the way to the MLS Cup Final, where they defeated Portland Timbers 2-0, before enjoying another productive campaign by finishing third in the league table and winning the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup as well as reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

However, they have so far been unable to translate that impressive start into the following decade. Atlanta went through three different managers in 2020, a year that would end trophyless and see them miss out on the playoffs after placing 12th in the East (23rd overall). They bounced back in 2021, finishing fifth in their conference and losing to eventual champions New York City FC in the first round, only to regress once again by failing to qualify for the postseason after placing 11th.

Desperate to make an improvement under new president Garth Lagerwey, who replaced Darren Eales at the helm in November 2022, Atlanta would bolster their squad with several MLS veterans like Derrick Etienne Jr., Quentin Westberg, Clement Diop and Miguel Berry, resulting in a sixth-place finish in the East, but they would once again lose in the first round. Atlanta managed to sneak into the 2024 playoffs after placing ninth, where they would edge Montreal on penalties in the wild card round before completing one of the greatest upsets in MLS history. Going up against Inter Miami, who had only just registered the best regular season in MLS history with a record 74 points, Atlanta managed to stave off elimination and force a third game, where they beat Miami in their own stadium. After successfully nullifying Lionel Messi and co., Atlanta’s path to the final appeared to be coastal clear – instead, they would end up losing 1-0 to Orlando City in the Conference Semifinals.

Currently 26th in the overall standings and 13th in the East, time is running out for Atlanta as they look to get back in the playoff spots, having accumulated 21 points from 24 matches. If they are to end their six-year trophy drought, their sole opportunity to do so will likely be in the Leagues Cup. After a run of eight consecutive matches without victory, Atlanta will take a break from MLS and kick off their Leagues Cup campaign on Wednesday, where they will take on Necaxa at home before flying to Mexico City to face Pumas and then returning to Georgia for their final group stage match vs. Atlas.