The Peachtree Hat Trick: Maddie's Three Thoughts after ATLUTD's 1-1 draw to Montreal
- Madison Crews
- Aug 10
- 4 min read
Back again for the Peachtree Hat Trick! Maddie here to give you my three takeaways from Atlanta's 1-1 draw last night versus Montreal.
Quality Without the Payoff
Since the Charlotte match, we have seen Atlanta United continue to be better and better, unfortunately they haven't seen the results along with those good performances.
In the match last night, I thought Atlanta started the match very strong. Then, Montreal were able to come back in and find a goal off of a throw-in when Atlanta was switched off. Even after the goal, Atlanta continued to create big moments and forced Montreal to defend for most of the match. Montreal couldn't cope with Atlanta's passing in moments. This is a big sign that Atlanta is getting better.
"I think we should have kept playing more wide. I think we were going a bit too much through the center," said Deila. "Every time we go wide and inside, we open them up. That’s something we have to learn from. Great attitude, everybody worked hard tonight.
They had a total of 3.1 xG on the night. Deila said that they have to be more effective in those moments. You have to take those chances, but I really liked what Deila said post match to Jason Longshore in media.
"We sit there and be sorry for ourselves or now show character and do exactly what we agreed to do. I think they need it. We were much better than them today. Over time you have to win football games. Need some confidence, need some things to go our way, but that doesn’t come for free," said Deila. "You have to fight for it. I need to stay positive. I see a football team. I see a team that we can build something really good. The sad part is that we don’t have so much time now when you look towards reaching the playoffs.”
This team continued to fight and show their character all the way until the very end. They were able to come back and get a point in this match. This team showed that fight last night and I agree with Deila in that I also see a team that can continue to build something really good.
Going Through Changes
Atlanta is in a transition period right now. You are bringing in players who are not 100% fit yet and you are still trying to integrate them into the team. We are seeing it with Enea Mihaj as he has been slowly working his way to be game fit. We saw the debuts of Juan Berrocal and Steven Alzate for the Five Stripes last night as they checked into the match in the second half.
As Chris Henderson told Mike Conti and Jason Longshore on the Five Stripes Countdown, their visa approvals came in preceding the game and they are staying in Canada to have their appointments with the embassy to physically get their visas which allowed them to be available off the bench.
“I know Alzate very good of course. He’s a good football player. He’s not fit yet," said Deila. "You see also what Berrocal can do. His composure, he’s tough, he’s a man. He’s a leader. I think we see some really good signs for something good to come.”
Deila also mentioned that it is very difficult to have to change the whole back four during a match, and that is something he has never seen before. Unfortunately, due to injuries, this has happened often in 2025. This is one reason why there are changes happening and we will see more a a better picture of what the team will look like in the back soon.
The team is going through changes, but I really liked what I saw from Berrocal and Alzate from last night. With these new pieces, you will hopefully see more consistency here soon.
From Russia With Love: Alexey Miranchuk
Had to give Mike Conti a bit of credit in the title (LOL), but there is a reason why I named Alexey as the Man of the Match last night of the Full Time Report. Alexey continues to prove every single person wrong whenever he steps out onto the pitch.
He has five goals in the last seven matches for the Five Stripes. Now, two goals in back-to-back matches also. Alexey is also Atlanta's second leading goal scorer. As a fan of the game, it is really cool to watch a player like Alexey here in Atlanta. It's like he views the game three steps a head of everyone else.
We have seen Alexey grow and continue to impress on the field, but we have also seen the connections grow on that right side with Alexey, Ronald Hernández and Miguel Almirón. The chemistry continues to get better and better each match.
“I think perfectly. I think now it’s a little bit unfortunate that we’ve created this bone in the right side of the field, but we understand each other very well. We’re doing a lot of things at training to understand each other," said Miranchuk. "I think you can see it progress, so we need to keep going. Keep doing the same thing.”
It may not be perfect, but we are seeing this team continue to learn more about one another on the pitch and we have seen these relationships flourish. Now, it's about building off of these positive performances and finding those results to match it. Continue to do your job no matter what stands in your way.
“As a soccer player, football player, you just need to do your job. You need to do your task no matter what," said Miranchuk. "We’ve been speaking in the team that no matter what is happening on the field, whether it’s down or it’s up, we have to do our job tactically, offensively, defensively. It’s very simple. We need to do our job.”
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