Atlanta, Georgia Local News
‘This is fixable’: Atlanta United remains winless for a 6th straight match, falls to DC 3-2
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On Saturday, May 11, Atlanta United hosted D.C. United, who were in ninth place and ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings by two points (14-12) with Atlanta having a game in hand. Now Atlanta is five behind D.C. in the standings following a 3-2 loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Coming into the match after not having won any of its last five league matches (three draws and two loses), United needed to take advantage of playing at home in the worst way. Particularly with the next home match being against current Eastern Conference first place holder Inter Miami on Wed., May 29 (7:30 p.m.).
Following the match, Atlanta manager Gonzalo Pineda called the result, a “down moment”, but added that current winless streak is “fixable.”
Things started off well with Atlanta earning a penalty kick in the 16th minute and Thiago Alamada sending that kick into the back of the D.C. net to go ahead 1-0. D.C. would immediately even the match in the 19th minute with a goal by forward Christian Benteke on a header. He would score again, on a header again, to give D.C. a 2-1 lead in the 44th minute.
Seven minutes of stoppage time was not enough for Atlanta to even the score before halftime, but the first minute of the second half would be. A shot by Saba Lobjanidze was deflected into the goal by a D.C. United defender Matti Peltola to draw the match at two.
Atlanta United will play a pair of road games this week after having played three games at home (one including a 3-0 victory over Charlotte Independence on Tues., May 7 in Kennesaw) the previous week. Atlanta will be in Cincinnati on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. start) and in Nashville on Saturday (1:45 p.m). Cincinnati FC defeated Atlanta United 2-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 20.
Benteke would score again, yes on another header, in front of the goal on a corner kick to put D.C. ahead again 3-2 in the 56th minute. That would be enough to give Atlanta its sixth loss of the season.
Goals accomplished: D.C. United’s Christian Benteke came into the match having scored eight goals in nine matches. He would leave Atlanta with goals 9,10 and 11 in hand after leaving the match on a substitution in the 87th minute. The 6-foot-3 Congolese forward was named MLS Player of the Matchday in late February and will most likely win that award again.
On Benteke’s hat trick, Pineda said, “Today against Benteke was a tough task for our back line.”
Goal-less streak continues: Atlanta United striker Giorgos Giakoumakis has been stuck on five goals for over a month. The last time Giakoumakis scored a goal was on Mar. 31 against Chicago. Atlanta won that match 3-0 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On a number of occasions tonight Giakoumakis got solid looks at D.C.’s net to no avail.
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