Griezmann's Brace Lifts Orlando City Past Atlanta United
Trying to build off the draw in Miami on the weekend, Atlanta United entertained Orlando City at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, working to continue the climb into the playoff conversation in the Eastern Conference. By the end of 90 minutes, the Five Stripes still found themselves with the promise of integrating new pieces combined with navigating a second match in a three match week.
The lineup for Tata Martino reflected the new faces brought in to help from the transfer window as Breel Embolo started up top with Miguel Almirón and Aleksey Miranchuk alongside. Mauricio Amaro would get the start after his quality minutes over the weekend to work with Tristan Muyumba and a returning Jay Fortune in the midfield. The backline remained the same with Báez, Díaz, Alonso, and Jacob in front of Lucas Hoyos in net.
For Martin Perelman, who is still listed as the interim head coach after the early season parting with Óscar Pareja, Maxime Crépeau started in net. The backline has been a consistent question for the club, especially on the left with injuries and inexperience. Bernardo Rhein started on the left with Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Iván Angulo was on the left-hand side of the midfield with Eduard Atuesta, Joran Gerbet, and Justin Ellis. The two forwards started as Martín Ojeda and Antoine Griezmann.
Atlanta United started their offensive work down the left-hand side early in the match as both Elías Báez and Miguel Almirón would work crosses in to the far post. The second of the three attempts would end up as the first goal for United, eventually called an own goal from David Brekalo. Paulo Díaz would find Aleksey Miranchuk off a short corner at the edge of the 18-yard box. Miranchuk's cross would find Breel Embolo, who volleyed the ball into the turf and had it trickle past Crépeau, slightly deflected by Brekalo on the way in.
United would be caught up in the chaos that Orlando likes to create with their effort on the ball. In the 14th minute, Martín Ojeda would be in behind the backline on the left. As he got to the edge of the 18, Lucas Hoyos would challenge Ojeda's path to target and wouldn't allow a shot on target. It would be one of three credited saves in the first 45.
Orlando would equalize in the 26th minute with Antoine Griezmann receiving a pass from Joran Gerbet that was guided toward the near post. A sliding Griezmann would reach the ball before an Atlanta United defender and put it past Hoyos at the near post.
That would be the score at the half as each team registered seven shots (on target shots were 3-1 Orlando City), but the visitors had more touches inside the Atlanta United 18, 16-7.
The second half was one where Orlando City seemed to wear down Atlanta United. A goal in the 58th minute by Iván Angulo, confirmed after a VAR review, and one with 13 minutes to go by Griezmann as Orlando City took full advantage of a turnover in the defensive third of Atlanta United gave the Lions only their third win in Atlanta in this series that now sits at 5-4-3 in favor of the home side. The new transfer window purchase for Orlando City now has seven goals on the year with his brace.
Orlando City had four of their 13 shots on target, while Atlanta did not manage one in the second half until Enea Mihaj's header in the seventh minute of stoppage time deflected off Tyrese Spicer and beyond Crépeau, another own goal credited to Orlando City for Atlanta's second goal of the night.
Tata Martino would bring Jay Fortune on for the first 45 to draw him into game shape after his injury absence. Adrian Gill would sub for him at the start of the second half. Luke Brennan, Enea Mihaj, Sérgio Santos, and Fafà Picault were all used as second-half subs as Atlanta tried to create any kind of spark.
In the second half, all of Atlanta United's seven shots were taken inside the Orlando City 18-yard box; five of the seven were off target, aimed at Crépeau.
Afterward, Tata Martino did not hide his frustration with how quickly the good feeling from Miami evaporated. "It's hard for me to explain," he said. "Before you all arrived, I was saying that for me it was a frustrating match. We came away from the Miami match with good feelings, especially because of what we did in the second half, with character, with courage, with good football. And today, at home, we just couldn't sustain that. I think we managed it for only ten minutes. We even scored the goal, we put the match in our favor very quickly. And after that, they got the better of us tactically, technically, and physically as well."
The roster turnover remains part of that equation. Martino noted that, counting arrivals since the January window, Atlanta fielded seven new players in Wednesday's lineup, with more still working toward their debuts. "It's not seven players who all arrived in January," he said. "Some in January, some in July, others in August, and we're getting into September and still don't have one of them eligible. Against a team like this, if we'd picked up thirty points in the first fourteen matches before the World Cup, maybe we could allow ourselves this kind of thing. But for us, on top of integrating new players, we're required to win."
Adrian Gill, on for Jay Fortune to start the second half, saw a team that arrived too late to its best version of the night. "I think we outplayed them towards the end, and it's just unlucky," Gill said. "They worked it around the middle quite well even until the final minutes of the game. We put them on the back foot towards the end, but we just couldn't get the goals that we needed to win."
Looking ahead to Saturday, Gill pointed to identity rather than personnel. "I honestly think our identity is getting there, and I think we just come out with the same mentality," he said. "We get our goal, we try not to let them score, and I think like that, we'll win."
Atlanta United (6-14-4, 22 points) now travels to D.C. United on the weekend, seven points out of the play-in round of the MLS playoffs.
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