Atlanta United 2-1 Chicago Fire: Community Player Ratings

Atlanta United showed its #grit with another road win Saturday night over the Chicago Fire. The 2-1 victory for the Five Stripes takes them to the top of the MLS standings for the first time in club history. The result makes it eight games unbeaten for Atlanta United, and thanks to that current form, the team is on pace to not only win the Supporters Shield, but break the MLS season points record that Toronto FC set just last season. Will things end up that way? Unlikely. But it’s a barometer that shows just how well the team is playing now, and if the team can avoid major injuries and the summer transfer window, watch out.

Man of the Match: This is boring, but it’s Miguel Almiron again. The Paraguayan is in incredible form, having won MLS Player of the Week and Playe of the Month awards last week. Almiron is the clear favorite in the MLS MVP race at this point in the season, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Almiron’s game Saturday night though was his defensive work rate. Despite tallying an assist with a perfect pass to set up Ezequiel Barco’s first MLS goal and completing a game-high 7 dribbles, Almiron added an astonishing 8 tackles and 9 ball recoveries.

Full Player Ratings:

GK: Brad Guzan - 7.76

RWB: Julian Gressel - 6.81

CB: Franco Escobar - 7.32

CB: Michael Parkhurst - 7.56

CB: Leandro Gonzalez Pirez - 7.06

LWB: Greg Garza - 6.78

CM: Jeff Larentowicz - 6.61

CM: Darlington Nagbe - 8.18

AM: Miguel Almiron - 9.05 (Man of the Match)

AM: Ezequiel Barco - 8.35

ST: Josef Martinez - 7.87

SUB: Kevin Kratz - 6.70

SUB: Tito Villalba - 6.60

SUB: Miles Robinson - 6.34