
Atlanta United Defeats Seattle Sounders 2-0
August 21, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Atlanta United FC News Release
ATLANTA - Atlanta United defeated Seattle Sounders FC 2-0 in its return to MLS Regular Season action on Sunday night. Giorgos Giakoumakis scored both goals on headers and increased his season total to 12, one off the league's Golden Boot lead. Additionally, two of Atlanta's summer signings, Xande Silva and Tristan Muyumba, made their MLS debuts and helped move the club within two points of third place in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta controlled the early portion of the match and found the breakthrough in the 11th minute off a set piece. Brooks Lennon sent a corner kick near the penalty spot, where Giakoumakis rose above his defender and headed the ball powerfully past Seattle's keeper Stefan Frei. Lennon recorded his eighth assist of the season, which is a new single-season best mark for the defender.
The away side nearly doubled its lead in the next 10 minutes. After Lennon skipped by a couple of Sounders players in midfield, he raced towards the box and laid the ball off to Edwin Mosquera but his shot went over the bar. Moments later, Silva cut inside the box onto his left foot but scuffed his shot at the last moment after Thiago Almada found him with a delicate pass between two defenders.
In the 36th minute, Giakoumakis had a shot from six yards out that was saved by Frei after patient build up play that ultimately led to Almada chipping a ball to Mosquera who one-timed his pass into the path of the Greek international. Seattle almost equalized on the stroke of halftime when Albert Rusnak collected a turnover and took a shot from the top of the box. Two Atlanta defenders deflected the shot and the ball skimmed the top of the crossbar off the ricochet. Atlanta took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Seattle had a couple of scoring opportunities in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. Guzan made a good stop on a Yeimar Gomez header, before Rusnak narrowly missed on a volley from 20 yards out in the 58th minute. But it was the Five Stripes who doubled the lead in the 65th minute. Almada collected a ball near the left side of the box and floated in a peach of a cross to Giakoumakis at the far post. The striker got away from his marker and powered a header near post for the 2-0 lead.
Atlanta controlled the rest of the match and picked up its third road win of the season and moved within two points of third place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Atlanta United (10-7-8, 38 points points) returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium next week when they host Nashville SC on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. All Atlanta United matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app.
Match Summary
Stats
Shots: 16-9 Seattle
Shots on target: 7-2 Atlanta
Corner kicks: 8-5 Seattle
Fouls Committed: 13-8 Atlanta
xG: 1.26 - 1.23 Atlanta
Possession: 64-36 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 86-77 Atlanta
Scoring
ATL - Giakoumakis 20' (Lennon)
ATL - Giakoumakis 65' (Almada)
Disciplinary
SEA - Yeimar Gomez 7'
ATL - Thiago Almada 26'
ATL - Edwin Mosquera 64' Notes:
Xande Silva and Tristan Muyumba made their MLS debuts
Giorgos Giakoumakis scored his second brace of the year and increased his team-leading tally to 12 goals on the season.
Brooks Lennon set a new single-season career-high with his eighth assist
Thiago Almada recorded his 11th assist of the season.
Attendance: 31,149
ATLANTA UNITED STARTING LINEUP
GK: Brad Guzan (c)
D: Brooks Lennon
D: Miles Robinson
D: Luis Abram
D: Caleb Wiley
M: Tristan Muyumba (Juanjo Purata - 86')
M: Matheus Rossetto (Osvaldo Alonso - 77')
M: Thiago Almada
M: Xande Silva (Tyler Wolff - 66')
M: Edwin Mosquera (Amar Sejdic - 77')
F: Giorgos Giakoumakis (Miguel Berry - 86')
Substitutes not used:
Quentin Westberg
Derrick Etienne Jr.
Ronald Hernandez
Santiago Sosa SEATTLE SOUNDERS STARTING LINEUP
GK: Stefan Frei
D: Alex Roldan
D: Yeimar Gomez
D: Jackson Ragen
D: Nouhou (Reed Baker-Whiting - 73')
M: Joao Paulo (Obed Vargas - 68')
M: Albert Rusnak
M: Nicolas Lodeiro (Fredy Montero - 68')
M: Jordan Morris
M: Leo Chu (Paul Rothrock - 68')
F: Raul Ruidiaz
Substitutes not used:
Andrew Thomas
Xavier Arreaga
Ethan Dobbelaere
Heber
Josh Atencio
OFFICIALS
Allen Chapman (referee), Jeremy Hanson(assistant), Kali Smith (assistant), Mark Allatin (fourth), Kevin Terry Jr. (VAR), Mike Kampmeinert (AVAR).
Images from this story
![]() Atlanta United celebrates win |
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