Atlanta United Falls 2-0 at FC Cincinnati
MLS Atlanta United FC

Atlanta United Falls 2-0 at FC Cincinnati

Published on February 21, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Atlanta United FC News Release


Atlanta United faces FC Cincinnati
Atlanta United faces FC Cincinnati
(Atlanta United FC)

CINCINNATI - Atlanta United fell 2-0 to FC Cincinnati Saturday night at TQL Stadium in its MLS season opener. Lucas Hoyos, Tomás Jacob and Elías Báez made their Atlanta United debuts, while Homegrown midfielder Cooper Sanchez became the youngest player in club history to start a season opener at 17 years and 332 days old.

Atlanta created the first chance on goal of the match in the sixth minute when Saba Lobjanidze received the ball on the left wing, cut inside and curled a right-footed shot from 20 yards out towards the far post to force a diving save from Roman Celentano.

Miguel Almirón put Atlanta's second shot on target a few minutes later. In the 22nd minute, Tomás Jacob won the ball back in midfield and played Latte Lath in behind Cincinnati's backline, however the striker was unable to get a clear shot off.

Cincinnati had a chance to take the lead in the 56th minute as an Atlanta pass deflected off a Cincinnati attacker into the path of Kevin Denkey who raced toward goal. The striker took a few touches and was one-on-one with Hoyos, however his attempt struck the right post.

Almirón forced another reaction save from Celentano in the 61st minute. After an Atlanta attack down the right side, a cross reached Almirón in the center of the box where the midfielder took a touch and struck a hard left-footed shot through a group of players towards the corner of the goal, however Celentano was able to dive and make the save.

Juan Berrocal made a goal line clearance in the 66th minute to keep the match level, yet Cincinnati took the lead through Denkey in the 80th minute. After an Atlanta turnover, Cincinnati capitalized on a transition moment as Samuel Gidi played the ball forward to Ender Echinique on the right wing. The wing back took two touches forward before squaring the ball to Denkey in front of goal who rounded Hoyos and placed a shot between a pair of Atlanta defenders and into the net.

Nick Hagglund made it 2-0 to the home side in the 90th minute, heading in a corner from Bryan Ramirez.

Atlanta United (0-1-0, 0 points) returns to action Saturday, Feb. 28 when it travels to face San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor). All Atlanta United matches are available on Apple TV.

Match Summary

Stats

Shots: 9-9

Shots on target: 3-3

Corner kicks: 5-2 Cincinnati

Fouls Committed: 19-10 Atlanta

xG: 2.6 - 0.7 Cincinnati

Possession: 55-45 Cincinnati

Passing accuracy: 78-78

Scoring

CIN - Kevin Denkey 80' (Echenique, Gidi)

CIN - Nick Hagglund 90' (Bryan Ramirez)

Disciplinary

CIN - Bryan Ramirez Y 26'

ATL - Tomás Jacob Y 51'

ATL - Steven Alzate Y 61'

Notes:

Lucas Hoyos, Tomás Jacob and Elías Báez each made their Atlanta United debut.

Cooper Sanchez became the youngest player in club history to start a season opener at 17 years and 332 days old.

Miguel Almirón covered a game-high 11.17 kilometers.

Attendance: 25,513

ATLANTA UNITED STARTING LINEUP

GK: Lucas Hoyos

D: Elías Báez

D: Juan Berrocal

D: Enea Mihaj

D: Ronald Hernández

M: Tomás Jacob

M: Steven Alzate (Luke Brennan - 85')

M: Cooper Sanchez (Tristan Muyumba - 73')

F: Saba Lobjanidze (Alexey Miranchuk - 73')

F: Miguel Almirón (c)

F: Latte Lath

Substitutes not used:

Jayden Hibbert

Stian Gregersen

Toto Majub

Matt Edwards

Adrian Gill

Cayman Togashi

FC CINCINNATI STARTING LINEUP

GK: Roman Celentano

D: Nick Hagglund

D: Miles Robinson (c)

D: Teenage Hadebe (Gilberto Flores - 71')

D: Bryan Ramirez

D: Ender Echenique (Alves Powell - 89')

M: Samuel Gidi

M: Pavel Bucha

M: Evander (Gerardo Valenzuela - 13', Obinna Nwobodo - 89'))

F: Kevin Denkey

F: Ayoub Jabbari (Tom Barlow - 71')

Substitutes not used:

Evan Louro

Kenji Mboma Dem

Kyle Smith

Brian Anunga

OFFICIALS

Rosendo Mendoza (referee), Jeremy Kieso (assistant), Walt Heatherly (assistant), Chris Penso (fourth), Younes Marrakchi (VAR), TJ Zablocki (AVAR)

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Atlanta United faces FC Cincinnati
Atlanta United faces FC Cincinnati
   



Major League Soccer Stories from February 21, 2026


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