Atlanta United Rallies Past Red Bull New York for First Win in 106 Days
- Jon Nelson
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Fafa Picault and Tristan Muyumba score, Miguel Almirón ties Atlanta's all time assist record, and Adrian Gill finally makes his major league debut
Returning to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time since May 9, Atlanta United was officially in the second half of its 2026 schedule: 18 matches played, 16 remaining. A crowd of 38,469 was on hand to see whether that second half would start any differently than the first.
New York Red Bulls carried the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference into the match under first year head coach Michael Bradley. Red Bulls snapped a two match losing streak their last time out with a 3-2 win over Orlando City in New Jersey.
Atlanta United, mired at the bottom of the table in the East, shook up the lineup a bit, trying to kick start a stretch that has three of the next four matches at home.
Tata Martino gave Adrian Gill his first ever MLS start, pairing him with Tristan Muyumba in the defensive midfield. Lucas Hoyos started between the sticks behind a back line of Elias Báez, Junior Alonso, Matt Edwards and Tomás Jacob. Up top, Cooper Sanchez returned from U19 duty alongside Alexey Miranchuk and Miguel Almirón, wearing the captain's armband, on the left, with Fafa Picault at the point.
Gill's opportunity came out of misfortune elsewhere on the roster. Martino explained that two injuries in the days before the match forced his hand.
"Today he had the opportunity, because of the misfortune of the injuries we had, one on Thursday and another on Friday," Martino said, through a translator. "And honestly he grew into the game, but he ended up putting together a very good match."
Jay Fortune picked up a muscle injury Thursday. Will Reilly followed with an ankle injury Friday. Martino was careful to note the club is not rushing Gill's workload back at Atlanta United 2 as a result. "We're looking for him to find his best physical form," he said. "We don't want to take risks when it's his turn to play."
Gill has paired well with Andrew Jardines in the defensive midfield for Jose Silva and Atlanta United 2 so far in 2026. He ranks in the top quarter among all MLS NEXT Pro midfielders in seven separate passing categories and six separate possession categories, and top third in five defensive categories, including the top five percent in recoveries.
Red Bulls started Ethan Horvath in net behind a 4-3-3. Justin Che, Dylan Nealis, Julian Bazan and Matthew Dos Santos filled out the back. The midfield three was Emil Forsberg, wearing the captain's armband, alongside Adri Mehmeti and Ronald Donkor. Up top, left to right, Red Bulls went with Julian Hall, newly signed Mijahir Jimenez and Cade Cowell.
The pressure from Red Bulls paid an instant dividend in the sixth minute. Atlanta United's back line was struggling to clear the ball from inside its own box. Julian Hall picked up the loose ball on the left side and found Adri Mehmeti at the top of the box. Mehmeti's first time pass split the Atlanta defense and sent Emil Forsberg in behind it. Forsberg did not need a second invitation, finishing low past Hoyos at the near post to give the visitors the lead.
It took Atlanta United the next ten minutes to solve the Red Bulls press. Once it did, the Five Stripes started finding space in transition, with switches into the alleys and gaps producing three real looks at Horvath. He stopped an Alexey Miranchuk effort, then watched Muyumba skew a difficult cross from Almirón over the bar, and a third header drifted just wide of the frame.
The lone goal held, and statistically the two teams were close at the break. Atlanta led in most of the key defensive categories, settling into absorbing the Red Bulls pressure rather than solving it outright.
The pattern continued into the second half. Atlanta had only one shot on target through the first 60 minutes, against an xG of almost 2 for New York, with the 6th minute finish from Forsberg still the only thing separating the sides. Hoyos credited the eventual fix to work done between the two halves.
"We worked on it during the week, we knew they would press, that they press very well," Hoyos said, in Spanish, through translation. "We looked for where the spaces were, especially in the second half, with tactical video at halftime, and that also helped with our buildout, and helped the team feel a bit of relief from their pressure."
In the 68th minute, Martino turned to his bench for fresh legs at the back, sending on Stian Gregersen for Matt Edwards. A minute later, Atlanta had its equalizer, and fittingly, it came in Muyumba's 100th career appearance for the club. The sequence started with Sanchez in the build, who found Tomás Jacob up the right. Jacob's first time ball found Miranchuk, who flicked it into Muyumba's path just outside the box. Muyumba settled it and sent the ball into the far upper corner, much like his goal against Philadelphia.
Muyumba had missed a gilt-edged chance in the first half, and he did not pretend otherwise afterward.
"I was really, really disappointed and frustrated about the miss in the first half," Muyumba said. "But fortunately, I'm happy and glad to score, and most of all, to win the game."
The goal was Muyumba's third of the season. Miranchuk picked up his fifth assist, giving him ten goal contributions on the year.
Both Bradley and Martino went to their benches in the final 15 minutes. Atlanta sent on Ronald Hernández and Steven Alzate for Elias Báez and Cooper Sanchez.
The corner kick just after the subs gave Atlanta the lead. Played short and reset from a wider angle, the ball found its way to Almirón in space on the right, who whipped a deep cross to the back post. Picault rose and headed it toward goal, and Horvath got a piece of it but could not keep it out. Miranchuk collected his second assist of the night, and Almirón's pass was his 41st career assist for the club, tying the all time Atlanta United record.
Red Bulls had surrendered leads on three previous occasions this season, and Atlanta made its own substitutions to close it out. Hoyos made his second crucial save of the night in the 87th minute, this one off a deflection right in front of him.
"It was a quick play, it was a deflection," Hoyos said. "The pass went between the legs and they got a heel touch on it in front of Stian [Gregersen], and, well, I just got a fingertip to it to clear it out."
Ronald Hernández had Hoyos's back moments later on a loose ball in no man's land, and with an eight minute stoppage time allotment, Atlanta held on. It was the club's first win in 106 days.
Next up for the Five Stripes (4-12-3, 15 points in the Eastern Conference) is a midweek trip to Allianz Field to face Minnesota United on Wednesday.
For the group, the result carried weight beyond three points. It came five days after a defeat in Philadelphia, and Martino pointed to that response as the thing that mattered most.
"What gives me peace of mind is that they keep going after it," Martino said. "We're in a bad position, but the players keep trying, keep competing. I think it's not only that we needed this, but that they deserve a win like tonight's, for the effort they put in and how they work."
Muyumba and Hoyos both pointed to the home crowd, back at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time in three months, as part of what made the night feel different.
"It's crucial for us," Muyumba said of the atmosphere. "It's like playing with twelve men."
"It was very important because we needed the win," Hoyos said, "especially given how the last defeat in Philadelphia had gone."
No one in the building had waited longer for the night than Gill. Three years and two knee surgeries removed from a soccer field, he finally got his first start, and played all 90 minutes.
"It's been a long time since I've been dreaming about this," Gill said. "So just coming here, getting a new opportunity, and finally getting to get a debut, a start, play 90, it's incredible."
He credited Javier Perez and Jose Silva for giving him room to relearn the position at Atlanta United 2, and admitted the first 15 to 20 minutes against a Red Bulls team that presses as relentlessly as any in the league were an adjustment.
"The nerves kind of wore off, and I felt good after the first fifteen, twenty minutes," Gill said.
Asked about the two knee surgeries that nearly took the game away from him, Gill did not look for a bigger word than the one that fit.
"There were so many firsts I had to go through," he said. "The first duel, the first fifty-fifty where my leg was extended, turning in tight turns, all that, it's nervous after you get a knee surgery. So that really helped me. And now I had the confidence to go out there and just play free."
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