Atlanta United 0-0 Chicago Fire: Recap, Rate and React

Final Whistle Recap and Thoughts

• I’m wrestling with how to feel after this one — strictly as it relates to the point won with the draw. Yes, it’s a decent result to go on the road against an in-form Chicago Fire team and earn something. But is it enough for Atlanta United at this stage? Past results and points dropped means at some point they need to overachieve the conventional expectation. And soon. I’ll sleep on it.
• Some solid performances at the back from the likes of Alan Franco (though was bailed out on an offside call) and Juanjo Purata. It was certainly a gutsy effort by the rest of the defensive group, and they deserve some credit for the clean sheet.
• Once agin it felt like Atlanta was playing without a forward, even though it had two natural strikers on the field from the start in Josef Martinez and Ronaldo Cisneros. There’s something missing that is keeping this unit from clicking.
• George Campbell and Matheus Rossetto are lucky lucky boys. Both had multiple bad giveaways that put their teammates in terrible positions, but thankfully neither were punished. Something to stare away in the brain stem though.
• And finally, Thiago Almada was inserted back into the starting lineup and played 90 minutes alongside Josef Martinez. Almada provided in moments but his teammates didn’t capitalize. And Almada himself had opportunities to score but could not convert. Just one of those days. But Atlanta’s attack worked best when it was going through him.

Instead of giving you our full player ratings now, we’ll get your reactions first. Below is a ratings form for you to fill out with how you rate each Atlanta United player’s performance. Feel free to head down to the comments section and leave your thoughts on the match as a whole or give your detailed explanation of your ratings. You can view the results by clicking to see previous responses after voting. Our ratings will be out shortly.

Here’s a mobile-friendly link to the ballot. The in-post ballot only works on desktop due to issues out of my control.