Atlanta United took down Columbus Crew 4-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, staying alive in MLS Cup playoffs and forcing a decisive game three.
The game two midweek contest in front of 41,850 was a complete 180-spin when compared to game one, as Atlanta thrived off the support from their fans.
Newcomer of the Year winner Giorgos Giakoumakis got things started in the 38th minute, as Brooks Lennon teed up an inviting cross that the Greece international thumped home powerfully via a headed effort. Columbus’ Cucho Hernadez pulled one back on the brink of halftime, beating Brad Guzan with a low-driven strike.
Xande Silva restored the Five Stripes’ lead in first half stoppage time, as Giakouamkis recieved a quick pass from Saba Lobjanidze and played Silva through on goal and the former West Ham player smashed the ball home from close range to put his team back in front.
Atlanta then began to run wild in the second 45, as substitute Edwin Mosquera made a darting run from midfield, found Giakouamkis in the box who then laid it off to him, and the Colombia international curled in a left-footed strike to put Atlanta in the driver’s seat.
But the goals didn’t stop there. MVP finalist and 2023 assists leader Thiago Almada got in on the act, spring through on goal from the left-wing and calmly chipped Patrick Schulte to to make it 4-1 to the home side.
The Crew were able to grab one final goal through Max Arfsten, but Atlanta held on for a 4-2 victory to set up a decisive game three.
“Credit to the team. We came back right away, which is a signature of a good mentality. Defend until the last ball, right? Set pieces, little pieces of the game, being in charge of our area, I think we can do that a little better, but other than that, I would say we were aggressive and very disciplined tactically,” Atlanta head coach Gonzalo Pineda said after the game.
“These types of games against Columbus require us to be tactically disciplined and we were. We are aggressive, pressing hard, and pressing together, which is great against a team that plays very well from the back. Then, how we played from the back, I think we were pretty good,” he added.
In game one on the road, Atlanta totaled a mere one shot, creating 0.07 xG over the entire 90 minutes. However, in game two, they created 2.37 xG to go along with 14 shots, of which seven were on target.
“We trust the process. We think, as a club, that we are doing the right things,” said Pineda. “We think we have the right players at the moment, and we have players that care. Missing Thiago in the first leg, that made us change a little bit, but I trusted the process that we have here and knew it was good and the players would come in with a strong mentality, and I saw that in their eyes, in their reactions, and in the training sessions, so I was confident.”
The Five Stripes return to Lower.com Field for game three on November 11, and the winner will advance to take on either Orlando City or Nashville SC in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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