Almirón, Galoppo, Embolo Lead Atlanta United Past CF Montréal 3-0
For Atlanta United, Wednesday night at Stade Saputo was a chance to keep the climb going north in the Eastern Conference standings with six matches to go in the 2026 MLS regular season. For CF Montréal, it was an opportunity to keep that from happening while drawing closer to their exit from the cellar.
The Five Stripes could get it done with the full-strength XI head coach Tata Martino would have liked to have had at the tail end of the last international window. The home side would have to do it a little short-handed in the scoring column.
Lucas Hoyos started in net. Matt Edwards entered the back four alongside Elías Báez, Paulo Díaz, and Júnior Alonso. The midfield three was Jay Fortune, Mauricio Amaro, and Giuliano Galoppo. Up top, Breel Embolo was flanked by Miguel Almirón and Alexey Miranchuk.
CF Montréal was without Prince Owusu, who has been nursing a knee "concern" since Monday's practice. Interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy started a hot Daniel Ríos up top in front of Noah Streit, Alexis Sánchez, and Wiki Carmona. Daniel Pereira and Matty Longstaff sat behind that group, with a back line of, left to right, Luca Petrasso, Brandan Craig, Jalen Neal, and Dawid Bugaj in front of Sébastian Breza in net.
Atlanta United dominated the first ten minutes, registering five shots, although none were on target. A fifth-minute cross from Jay Fortune forced Breza to punch twice to clear attempts by Almirón and Báez. Four minutes later, Fortune tried to combine with Miranchuk on the rush, but Petrasso got in the way of the intended pass at the edge of the arc to keep things goalless.
Montréal took the next few minutes and had sustained possession in the United half, but nothing to show for it. Sánchez fired from 24 yards out in the 17th minute, forcing Hoyos into a parry save over the bar.
Five minutes later, Atlanta United got on the board, as quick work involving four players in the attacking third gave Almirón his sixth goal of the season. Miranchuk's pass to the left wing, intended for Báez, was picked off by Galoppo, who completed the action to his left. Báez then found Miggy at the top of the 18. His shot took just enough of a deflection to disrupt Breza's save attempt, glanced off the post, and ended up in the net. Báez registered his fifth assist, Galoppo his first.
United kept pushing forward through the physicality of Embolo and the artistry of Miranchuk (more than once) as they chased a second. It came in the 42nd minute, after Carmona fouled Fortune 30 yards from goal.
Almirón sent the free kick to the far post. Montréal eventually cleared the ball, but only as far as Díaz, who had enough time to settle it inside the 18 and pick out Embolo. Embolo's header went right at Breza for the save, but Galoppo slammed home the rebound for the 2-0 lead.
At the break, United held a 12-2 advantage in shots (4-1 on target) and had two key passes to Montréal's none.
Efraín Morales came on at the top of the second half as the home side switched to a three center-back setup that gave United a little trouble early. Three minutes in, a set piece from just outside the 18 was deflected over the bar, and the ensuing corner came to nothing.
Atlanta picked up a third with 30 minutes to go. Fortune and Miranchuk pressured up the right-hand side, and a nifty backheel on the end line found Fortune outside the six. Fortune's pass across goal found Almirón, whose shot from the left side of the box was saved by Breza, but Embolo smashed the rebound home for his second of the year.
Your first piece of trivia for the night: that goal was the 500th in Atlanta United history, writing Embolo into the club's record books.
A fourth nearly went on the board with 15 minutes to go, when Miranchuk appeared to chest the ball into the net, but it was ruled a handball. With the comfortable margin, Martino went to his bench, resting starters and finding minutes for Steven Alzate, Sérgio Santos, Cooper Sanchez, Tristan Muyumba, and Fafà Picault down the stretch.
Montréal pushed late for a consolation. Hoyos stopped a Hennadii Synchuk shot from distance in the 81st minute, and in stoppage time Synchuk and Olger Escobar hit the crossbar a minute apart, but the clean sheet held.
Martino: "We converted them"
Martino pointed to how his side handled Montréal's pressure, and how much more consistent it looked than it did over the weekend. (Martino's comments are translated from Spanish.)
"I think we handled the opponent's pressure better," Martino said. "We were more consistent in our performance. We didn't have the ups and downs that we had last Saturday. And I think we created a lot of goal-scoring opportunities and, most importantly, we converted them."
The plan without the ball was simple and, by his account, executed well.
"Because of the way Montréal builds its attacks, we set up our press three against three," Martino said. "I think our forwards were very disciplined in carrying that out."
When United did have to defend deeper, it didn't flinch.
"Today, in the moments when we lost possession, the team gave the impression that it wasn't rushed or desperate," Martino said. "When we needed to drop deeper on the field, we did that well too. It's also good to have a team you can trust when it doesn't have the ball and is forced to drop back."
Edwards: "We played with more pride"
Martino also singled out Matt Edwards, who "played a great game, too." Speaking with SDH Network's Jason Longshore after the match, Edwards said the response to last Saturday's result came from somewhere beyond tactics.
"It was a bad, bad performance from us," Edwards said of Saturday. "So it was good to come out and get the points. I think today we played with a little more pride. I think we connected more as a team for sure, but we played with more pride and we knew what was at stake. As a team, we just don't want to let our fans down."
Edwards said the defensive shape set the tone.
"We took our chances well. We defended really well in our mid-block and low block and defended the cross pretty well," Edwards said. "In our mid-block, we were very tight. We blocked the passing lanes and we were really aggressive. I think that was a big factor. When we didn't have the ball, we were aggressive with the guys that had it."
On Díaz and Alonso, he credited what the veteran center backs have brought to the group: "They bring a lot of qualities and they bring a lot of experience. They've been playing for a while and they've been playing in different countries, and they're sharing that with the group. It takes time to grow as a team, but over time we'll get there."
And on the defensive group as a whole, Amaro included: "Everyone played their role, but the back five, we stayed together for sure. We made sure that the attacking players had more freedom today."
Up next: Inter Miami
It was a dominant night in every metric for the Five Stripes, and a needed one, with the third match in a week coming Saturday when Inter Miami visits Mercedes-Benz Stadium. United stayed overnight in Montréal rather than flying home after the match.
"We would have arrived in the early morning hours, and the players would have had to sleep on the plane," Martino said. "For us, being able to recover, sleep here, get a good night's rest, and fly tomorrow morning is better for the players' recovery."
Martino was clear-eyed about what Wednesday's result means.
"For a team, being able to compete until the final matchday, knowing that we still have some chance, is very important," he said. "Today we're saying this victory matters if we can win on Saturday. And then on Saturday, we'll say that victory matters if we can win the following Saturday, and so on. Because the only thing that gives us any reason for hope is winning the matches we have left."
Edwards wants Mercedes-Benz Stadium to be a factor.
"I think the fans are going to be everything for us," he said. "Hopefully we can fill the stadium a little more."
Your second piece of trivia for the night: Atlanta United's last match with three goals on the board? The 3-2 win in Fort Lauderdale against... Inter Miami... in the 2024 playoffs.
United (8-15-6, 30 points, 12th in the Eastern Conference at press time) welcomes the second-place Herons for a 7:40 p.m. kickoff Saturday night.
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