
Atlanta United Falls 1-0 at Columbus Crew
February 24, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Atlanta United FC News Release
ATLANTA - Atlanta United fell 1-0 to Columbus Crew to open the MLS season Saturday at Lower.com Field. Stian Gregersen, Derrick Williams and Bartosz Slisz each made their club debuts.
Columbus scored the game's opening goal in the 27th minute through Cucho Hernandez. Diego Rossi played a cross from the left wing across the face of goal that Brad Guzan deflected, however the ball fell to Hernandez who struck a first-time finish into the net.
After a lengthy VAR review, Columbus was awarded a penalty kick in the 54th minute for a foul on Mohamed Farsi inside the box. Hernandez stepped up to take the penalty kick but Guzan dove to the right to make the save and keep Atlanta within a goal.
Atlanta immediately responded after the save, out-possessing Columbus and continuing to put the Crew back line under pressure. In the 69th minute, Thiago Almada played a dangerous a ball into the box to Saba Lobjanidze who chested it down and laid it off to Giorgos Giakoumakis, however a last-second tackle prevented him from getting a shot on goal.
In the 71st minute, Almada received a pass from Bartosz Slisz in the attacking half and quickly played a through ball behind the Columbus back line to Xande Silva. A Crew defender tackled the ball into the path of Giakoumakis, who had his shot saved by Patrick Schulte.
Gonzalo Pineda made a pair of substitutions in the 81st minute, bringing on Jay Fortune and Tyler Wolff for Tristan Muyumba and Xande Silva as Atlanta continued to push for the equalizer.
Almada nearly leveled the match in the 90th minute, combining with Wolff at the top of the box before unleashing a right-footed strike toward goal that was headed just over the crossbar by a Crew defender.
Atlanta United (0-1-0, 0 points) returns to action Saturday, March 9 when it hosts New England Revolution in the club's home opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor). All Atlanta United matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app.
Match Summary
Stats
Shots: 16-6 CLB
Shots on target: 3-3
Corner kicks: 3-2 CLB
Fouls Committed: 13-8 ATL
xG: 2.2-.7 CLB
Possession: 50-50
Passing accuracy: 90.5-88.2 ATL
Scoring
CLB - Hernandez 27'
Disciplinary
ATL -Giorgos Giakoumakis 22' Y
ATL - Stian Gregersen 53' Y Notes:
Stian Gregersen, Derrick Williams and Bartosz Slisz made their club debuts.
Brad Guzan saved his fourth career penalty for Atlanta United.
The PK save was the club's first since March 30, 2019.
Attendance: 20,406
ATLANTA UNITED STARTING LINEUP
GK: Brad Guzan (c)
D: Brooks Lennon
D: Stian Gregersen
D: Derrick Williams
D: Caleb Wiley
M: Bartosz Slisz
M: Tristan Muyumba (Jay Fortune - 81')
M: Thiago Almada
M: Saba Lobjanidze
M: Xande Silva (Tyler Wolff - 81')
F: Giorgos Giakoumakis
Substitutes not used:
Josh Cohen
Luis Abram
Ronald Hernandez
Dax McCarty
Noah Cobb
Luke Brennan
Nick Firmino
COLUMBUS CREW STARTING LINEUP
GK: Patrick Schulte
D: Rudy Camacho
D: Yaw Yeboah (Steven Moreira - 88')
D: Malte Amundsen
D: Mohamed Farsi (Max Arfsten - 51')
M: Darlington Nagbe (c)
M: Aidan Morris
M: Sean Zawadski
F: Cucho Hernandez
F: Diego Rossi
F: Jacen Russell-Rowe (Alexandru Matan - 75')
Substitutes not used:
Philip Quinton
Derrick Jones
Marino Hinestroza
Christian Ramirez
Yevhen Cheberko
Evan Bush
OFFICIALS
Rafael Bonilla (referee), Albert Escovar(assistant), Derek Guerrier (assistant), Lorant Varga (fourth), Mark Geiger (VAR)
Images from this story
![]() Atlanta United face the Columbus Crew |
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