Atlanta United hosted Inter Miami CF for the first meeting between the two since the improbable upset in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs that knocked the Supporters’ Shield winners out of the postseason in Round One. Tonight, new stars showed out and world-class quality showed up on the big stage of Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire. This time, however, the result did not go Atlanta’s way, and Inter Miami CF escaped with a late win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Final score: Atlanta United 1, Inter Miami CF 2
Who scored and what happened: Atlanta United opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Brooks Lennon, after receiving a vertical pass from Miguel Almirón, delivered a gorgeous cross into a pocket of space inside the box for Emmanuel Latte Lath. The forward, looking like Air Jordan, rose to convert the header, notching his third goal of the season and the first goal of the night.
Almirón and Lennon were given assists on the score. It marked Lennon’s 39th all-time with Atlanta United, which ties him with Julian Gressel for the most assists in club history across all competitions.
Lennon very nearly claimed the club record for himself when he found Latte Lath on a header again in the 19th minute, a play nearly identical to the opening goal. But Latte Lath was caught offsides.
Instead, it was the Herons who scored next. Inter Miami secured a takeaway deep in their attacking third. The ball found Lionel Messi, who cut to avoid Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan and chipped it to equalize the match 1-1 in the 20th minute.
The score remained deadlocked 1-1 for a long time and deep into the match, proving the quality on both sides. Atlanta United nearly broke through in the 54th minute when the ball poked forward to Latte Lath in the center of the box. In a congested area, Atlanta United got in their own way and the forward wasn’t quite able to test Miami goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo. A few minutes later, Tristan Muyumba did just that when he launched a rocket from about 30 yards out that nearly found the upper corner. A shot from that range certainly would’ve been Goal of the Matchday worthy, and blown the roof off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the well struck attempt knocked the crossbar.
Guzan made some key stops times during that span to keep the match even. When Messi began operating in a tight space close to goal, Guzan made a difficult save to prevent the midfielder’s brace in the 55th minute. Atlanta’s big, bald wall stretched out to stop another take from Messi, which came off a quick counter, in the 65th minute.
Xande Silva, the hero of Game 2 last fall, entered the match as a substitute in the 71st minute for Atlanta United. The Portuguese winger surely sought to recreate his stoppage-time stunner (on his birthday, no less) that forced a decisive Game 3 with the No. 1 seed.
However, Sunday night’s hero was Fafà Picault, whose long header off a Jordi Alba cross, which came from a short corner, trickled into the opposite corner for Miami’s game-winning goal in the 89th minute.
Quoting head coach Ronny Deila:
“We played against a team that hasn’t lost this year and last year had the most points in the league, so I don’t see that there’s a frightening difference between us. That’s the good thing. But in the end, we gave them too many easy chances. The first goal, we lose the ball in a very bad situation. You give that to the best player in the world and you have a problem. The same with the set play at the end also. It’s something we need to take out of the game.”
The Messi factor: There was some uncertainty heading into Sunday how much we’d see of the World Cup and eight-time Ballon D’Or award winner. He’s rested three matches this season, then came on as a sub in Miami’s most recent Concacaf Champions Cup match a few days ago. Not only did Messi play for Inter Miami against Atlanta, he started the match, scored and played a full 90 minutes. He was, of course, very effective, forcing Guzan to make quick reactions, cutting the ball tightly and sending long passes with his masterful vision on the pitch.
Standouts: Atlanta United had more numbers at defense thanks to Brooks Lennon making the 200th start in his MLS regular season career. Lennon’s integration back into the starting XI for Atlanta United meant that we saw the team’s most experienced defenders in front of Guzan along the backline and the main group from Atlanta United’s postseason run last season. Lennon along with Portuguese defender Pedro Amador manned the flanks while Stian Gregersen and Derrick Williams served as center backs.
The returns of Lennon and Amador for their first match together of the season meant more than defensive depth for head coach Ronny Deila. The pair, who combined for 16 assists in 2024, also created more fluidity in Atlanta’s attack. Amador wasn’t afraid to go forward while his counterpart on the left side Saba Lobjanidze was able to drop back and open up space for the fullback’s run. On the other side, Lennon made committed runs and was ready to track down a long ball at any moment, which is exactly what led to the opening goal of the match for Latte Lath.
Guzan in goal for Atlanta United wasn’t able to add the third clean sheet in his career against Miami, but he did make some stops that helped Atlanta’s cause. He finished the night with six saves.
Two happened in first half stoppage time. The first, and most testing, was when a loose ball found the feet of Messi, who put a firm shot on goal on a volley. Guzan went flying to block the shot. Guzan came up big again after Miami won a free kick following a testy moment when both sides grew heated. The Atlanta United veteran handled the chance on target to end the first half.
- Brooks Lennon started the 200th regular season match of his MLS career.
- Lennon also moved up to No. 1 all-time in assists at Atlanta United, tied with Julian Gressel.
- Latte Lath scored his third goal of the season for Atlanta United, which leads the squad.
Up next: After back-to-back matches at home, the 5-Stripes travel next weekend. They’ll visit Ohio to face FC Cincinnati for an afternoon kickoff on Saturday, March 22 at TQL Stadium. The first FIFA international break of the calendar year also begins this week, running March 17-25. Several Atlanta United players are expected to be called up to join their national teams in competition.
Sandy McAfee –
