Player Ratings from Atlanta United’s 1-1 draw with Orlando City

Player Ratings

GK Rocco Rios Novo 3 - So, personally, I don’t think the center referee in Sunday’s match (Victor Rivas) should’ve let the goal stand — and perhaps shown a yellow card to Rios Novo instead for delay of game. But ultimately, the responsibility must fall on the goalkeeper for the disorganization on the free kick that lead to Orlando’s only goal. Wasn’t super impressed with his handling or command on some of the other plays in the game either (though his on-ball distribution remains good).

LB Caleb Wiley 6 - Good game for Wiley, especially considering he was going up against one of the best opposing right backs in the league. Won three tackles while connecting on two of five crosses. There was less for Wiley to do in the attack against such a threatening opponent, but he did his job well on surely fatigued legs.

CB Alan Franco 6 - Playing as the central CB in a back three really seems to mitigate Franco’s biggest flaw, which is split-second decision-making in decisive moments (admittedly a pretty fatal flaw given his position). But he’s been error-free in every game he’s played in this position, including Sunday.

CB George Campbell 7 - You could actually make a very similar case for Campbell wrt his comfort in a back three. He lost possession the fewest amount of times on the team in the game (4) and got pretty far forward at times — once even dribbling all the way to the edge of the penalty area. Perhaps all the defenders were helped by the fact that Orlando hardly possessed the ball in the final third through the entire game.

CB Juanjo Purata 8 - This rating is as much about his actual contribution in the game (an obviously crucial headed goal with a surprisingly low percentage of duels won) as it is about how important of a fit that he has offered for this new shape. He was versatile enough to play as somewhat of a right back for a good chunk of the second half. He’s a nice player with room to drastically improve the team.

RB Aiden McFadden 6 - Both McFadden and Wiley must be exhausted playing the amount of minutes and covering the amount of ground that each of them are. It wasn’t McFadden’s best day, though he did show some flashes and you can see how he’s coming closer to more dangerous combinations with the forwards in the attacking third.

CM Amar Sejdic 7 - In truth, maybe another boring ol 6 is better representative of his solid display Sunday. But I want to show him love for the RSL game (that I missed doing these ratings for) where I thought he was the Man of the Match. He should be a regular starter until another player is clearly beating him out on the training ground.

CM Matheus Rossetto 6 - Passed at 96 percent and only lost possession 7 times. Pretty much exactly what he’s there to do in a 3-4-3.

FWD Luiz Araujo 6 - Statistically, Araujo was fantastic with 8/10 dribbles won and two key passes (aka shot assists) as the highlight. But sometimes those dribbles seem either unnecessary, or, just simply not that imperative or important. Idk. While he was good, I felt like he didn’t have as good of a connection with his teammates as we’ve seen.

FWD Marcelino Moreno 7 - I have a very similar thought about Moreno’s play as well — which has been a more consistent criticism many have had for him as opposed to Luiz. But I’m giving Moreno the 7 not for the 20 duels won, but because of how he won those duels, which included 6 tackles. If he had that kind of defensive output on a regular basis, he would have a totally different utility for the team.

FWD Ronaldo Cisneros 4 - Barely touched the ball, barely got involved. His vertical runs were there, but Orlando was clearly prepared and in his hip pocket all day.

SUB Thiago Almada 8 (Man of the Match) - Thiago Almada’s intriduction at the hour mark changed the game, and he is as deserving of the goal as the scorer Juanjo Purata for the quality service he delivered. But even outside of that, his dynamic movements and passing ability puts Atlanta on a totally different level compared to when he’s not on the field.

SUB Josef Martinez 4 - Missed a golden chance to bag the winner. He still did some good stuff and had two other nice attempts on goal that barely missed (one denied by the post). But that one missed chance is a huge opportunity that he’s on the field to convert.

SUB Dom Dwyer 7 - Fantastic from Dwyer. He set up Josef perfectly for one of his near misses, and he’d probably be getting MOTM honors if not for one of the saves of the year in MLS by Pedro Gallese in the dying moments. He continues to be a legit supersub for this team.

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