Atlanta United vs. LAFC, full-time: Five Stripes pull away from LA

Full-time - That’s it. Atlanta win what turned into a rout but was a much closer match than the score will suggest.

90+6’ - Now it’s ugly. Romario Williams has come off the bench to score a great goal. It’s his first competitive goal for the club!

90’ - Rinse. Repeat. Another penalty to Atlanta. Miggy scores again. 4-0.

87’ - Atlanta United have again been rewarded by VAR. A questionable penalty call went their way as Miguel Almiron was said to have been fouled by Walker Zimmerman in the box. Miggy stepped up and scored to make it 3-0.

68’ - It’s 2-0 to Atlanta! Again it’s Julian Gressel who makes it happen with a brilliant run down the right flank. His perfect cross floated over the defender and goalkeeper to Josef Martinez to finish at the back post.

Halftime - An eventful first half comes to an end with Gressel’s lone goal holding up. LAFC have enjoyed the majority of possession but haven’t really threatened Brad Guzan’s goal. LAFC could’ve had a man sent off after Laurent Ciman seemingly elbowed Josef Martinez in the head, but VAR was not utilized on the play. All’s left to play for in what should be an interesting second half.

17’ - The Five Stripes strike first! Some great play by Michael Parkhurst and Miguel Almiron on the left flank result in a square ball finding Julian Gressel wide open for the easy tap-in. Great goal for Atlanta.

2’ - A very early scare for Atlanta United as Chris McCann is sent off by referee Ted Unkel for a dangerous tackle in the first minute of the match. However, after video review, the card was changed to a yellow only.

Tifo: Today’s tifo is an homage to Black Panther. Pretty cool stuff.

Pre-Match: Today’s match-up couldn’t pit to two opponents coming off more polar-opposite results against each other. MLS’ brand new play toy LAFC is coming off of their first loss of their existence in excruciating fashion. In perhaps one of the most exciting games in league history, they conceded a 3-0 lead and succumbed to the brilliance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. On the other side, Atlanta United bring a hard fought 1-0 win over Minnesota United back home with them.

On paper, this is setting up to be a very entertaining match to watch. Both teams have extremely talented attacks and questions in defense. Atlanta will be without Leandro Gonzalez Pirez (suspension) and Franco Escobar (concussion), leaving Tata Martino with several lineup questions to answer. Meanwhile, LAFC just gave up four goals and are still trying to gel as a team, especially along the back line.

Settle in for what could be a wild match and hope that the fourth straight win is on the way for the Five Stripes.

Note: We’re trying something new with our match threads this year. We’ll be updating the post with updates of goals and big moments as they happen. Check back every so often during the match for highlights and commentary.

Atlanta United’s Lineup:

LAFC’s Lineup:

How to Watch

Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Kickoff Time: 5:00 p.m. ET

Available TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes

Available Streaming: WATCHESPN, Sling TV

Available Radio: 92.9 The Game (English), AT&T Countdown to Kickoff (FB Live/Periscope), La Mejor 1600 AM (Spanish)

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