Philadelphia Union Scores Twice in Final Three Minutes to Sink Ten-Man Atlanta United

What started as a beautiful night in Chester turned ugly by the end for Atlanta United. (photo: SDH Network)

Atlanta United spent more than an hour of its match in Chester, Pennsylvania down a man, and for most of that stretch, it looked like enough to escape with a result. Goals from Miguel Almirón and Tristan Muyumba held the lead into stoppage time, but Neil Pierre's header and a stunning Ezekiel Alladoh volley in the final three minutes turned a backs-to-the-wall performance into a 3-2 loss to Philadelphia Union. The Union finished with a 30-4 edge in shots but the same number of big chances as Atlanta, 1-1, across the full match.

Atlanta United Head Coach Tata Martino had to approach the set-up differently visiting Chester, Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Union. With Cooper Sanchez now in Mexico for the CONCACAF U-20 tournament, there was not a like-for-like replacement for the standard formation the Five Stripes traditionally have in a Starting XI.

So, three center backs got the start: Junior Alonso, Enea Mihaj, and Tomas Jacob. Will Reilly and Tristan Muyumba were your defensive midfielders. Elias Baez and Matthew Edwards were on the wings. Miguel Almirón and Alexey Miranchuk were your attacking midfielders with Fafa Picault up top.

For the Union, in front of Andre Blake in a 4-4-2, the backline was Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield. The midfield 4 had Indiana Vassiliev, Danley Jean-Jacques, Jovan Lukic, and Cavan Sullivan. The two up top were Milan Iloski and Bruno Damiani.

The key, for Atlanta United, in this new shape was to navigate the first 15-20 minutes and stay even with Philadelphia getting the tenor of the match in front of them. United had a chance off an Almirón corner kick in the 8th minute, but the Fafa Picault header would go wide of the far post.

The match changed in the 27th minute as center ref Allen Chapman issued a straight red card to Enea Mihaj on a sliding challenge on Milan Iloski. The line of three would change into a line of four for defending for the rest of the first half and work into a 4-4-1.

But the match would take another twist a few minutes later as Miguel Almirón would get past Westfield and Pierre inside the Union 18. As he was being taken down, Almirón would have the ball brush him and make its way past Andre Blake for the goal and the lead.

Atlanta would handle the remainder of the half well up a goal, with the man advantage translating into a 12-2 tilt in shots for the hosts (2-1 on target and two crossbars in the last eight minutes of play).

In the second 45, Philadelphia looked uncomfortable in possession (not being structured that way in their DNA), and despite piling up an 18-2 shot advantage after the break, their frustration was evident in their inability to turn volume into quality looks.

On one of the rare possessions Atlanta United had in the second half, Tristan Muyumba would work centrally against Neil Pierre just outside the arc. His curler to the far post upper-90 would beat Andre Blake for his second goal of the season, and Atlanta's second goal of the match.

In the 73rd minute, Philadelphia would get a goal back from Milan Iloski. The cross from the left would be deflected heading into the Atlanta 18. Iloski would get to the ball, slowed by the touch, and send an imaginative flick past Lucas Hoyos for his tenth goal of the season. Philadelphia had turned to its bench two minutes earlier, sending on Ezekiel Alladoh for Bruno Damiani in the 71st minute.

With ten minutes to go, Lucas Hoyos went full extension to his right for a save to deny an equalizer from Cavan Sullivan, as both teams made subs for fresh legs. For Atlanta, Stian Gregersen and Luke Brennan entered for Alexey Miranchuk and Fafa Picault to help defensively.

With just under three minutes to go in the eight minutes added, Neil Pierre would take advantage of his 6-foot-7 frame and win a header to put a ball past Lucas Hoyos for the equalizer. Then, seconds later, Kai Wagner found substitute Ezekiel Alladoh with a cross from the left. The world-class volley with his left foot from inside the top of the box completed the 3-2 turnaround.

Speaking to media afterward, Martino didn't dwell on the collapse. Asked about his team's response playing more than an hour down a man, he pointed to the bigger picture. "Keep insisting, because after a 4-1 loss to New England, they were able to play the match they played today and run the way they ran," Martino said. "That's not something that worries me, that the players will fall apart mentally, because they won't." Atlanta returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 15th to host the Red Bulls, with an off week in between.