Player ratings from Atlanta United’s late late late draw in Nashville

Player Ratings

GK Bobby Shuttleworth - 6

Not a ton to say on Shuttleworth. He did his job as you’d expect, as Nashville finished with 2.13 xGOT (expected goals on target, which maps where shots cross the goalmouth and the likelihood of those shots crossing the goal line).

RB Brooks Lennon - 7

Some ratings judged less on what a player does in totality and more on what they do in a key moment, and Brooks Lennon was superb in assisting the final goal of the game — both the run and the decision to square it back to Dom Dwyer with his first touch. He was outlept by CJ Sapong for Nashville’s second goal, but that’s a bad matchup and not one we can expect Lennon to win.

CB Alan Franco - 6

Was criticized harshly by the TV commentators for his indecision on Nashville’s first goal, but he had no good options as he was the only player back to defend two forwards charging in on goal. Outside of that, he was key in propelling Atlanta forward in the second half, making adventurous runs and carrying the ball well into midfield.

CB Alex De John - 6

Another solid performance by De John that — while not perfect — was suitable for the team.

LB Andrew Gutman - 6

Such a shame that Gutman appears to have suffered a muscle strain that forced his ouster at halftime. Hopefully it’s relatively minor. Another shame: the guy gets kicked to hell during matches with very little protection from referees.

CM Franco Ibarra - 4

An early (and debatable) yellow card really seemed to throw Ibarra out of his game, as he was unable to fully put himself into challenges and win back possession like we’ve recently seen.Ibarra was dribbled past three times in the match — likely down to him not wanting to risk picking up the second booking.

CM Matheus Rossetto - 4

Basically at fault for a goal with a poor turnover in the middle of the park that left Alan Franco and Bobby Shuttleworth helpless. Rossetto was also hurt by the aforementioned issues plaguing Ibarra in the match.

AM Marcelino Moreno - 6

Shockingly, Moreno did not attempt a dribble in the match, which I look at as a sign of positive progression for the player as he has become less prone to turnovers and more willing to rely on his teammates to help him in recent weeks. He bagged an assist — a relatively easy one that was just a simple pass to Thiago Almada streaking into the box — but an assist nonetheless

AM Thiago Almada - 9

Almada played arguably the best pass of the year for an Atlanta United player (besting his assist the prior week against New England) with a beautiful chipped ball in behind to Brooks Lennon. Unfortunately for Almada, the quality and importance of this pass will not be reflected on stat logs. But make no mistake, Atlanta does not get the point out of Nashville without Almada and his play in this game. He is a bona fide star in MLS.

AM Luiz Araujo - 7

Some of Araujo’s best play might be forgotten because it happened prior to the three-hour delay, but he made several incisive vertical passes up the left wing to help Atlanta break in transition. Those are the exact situations where Araujo is most effective, but the interplay with teammates in the final third is slowly but surely improving as well.

ST Ronaldo Cisneros - 6

Based on stats alone, Cisneros looks more like a 4, but the work he does off the ball is so important for this team. It showed on the first goal which came purely down to Atlanta’s pressure, which Cisneros leads. And there were several other occasions in the game where Atlanta’s press overwhelmed Nashville to the point where they had to punt the ball away from their own area.

SUB Ronald Hernandez - 7

Playing almost as a centerback on his unnatural left side, Hernandez did his job as well as anyone could have expected. He’s a more defensive fullback option, especially on the left, and could prove to be a good pairing with the more offensive Brooks Lennon on the right if Andrew Gutman is to miss time.

SUB Dom Dwyer - 7

Normally I wouldn’t rate a player with only 15 minutes of action and five touches like Dwyer, but when you score a late equalizer... It was a classic poacher’s goal, and Dwyer is fitting that role for Gonzalo Pineda very well. (Cisneros is still the better option to use from the start of games.)

No Ratings for George Campbell, Emerson Hyndman and Amar Sejdic.