Atlanta United fell 2-0 on the road to LA Galaxy as Bundesliga legend Marco Reus grabbed a goal and an assist to power his side to victory at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Ahead of tonight’s clash, both sides were looking forward to giving their debuts to two new signings. The Galaxy were eager to bring Borussia Dortmund legend Marco Reus into the mix while Atlanta they expected an impact from Alexey Miranchuk.
Neither team was able to overcome the score in the 45 minutes played in Southern California. The visitors almost took the lead before Xande Silva’s shot went straight into the arms of John McCarthy, while the home side had a chance to stop from close range after Brad Guzan’s save.
However, the galaxy they had a golden opportunity to go ahead as the team was awarded a penalty after Atlanta’s Derrick Williams was called for a handball in his own half. Joseph Paintsil rose to take the penalty and 39-year-old Brad Guzan guessed correctly to save the try and keep the score tied at 0-0.
Later in the game, in the 60th minute, both Miranchuk and Reus were substituted in the game which was still tied. Approximately 15 minutes later, Reus scored his first goal as a Galaxy player by claiming the assist for the first goal. The 35-year-old laid a hand on Riqui Puig as the former Barcelona midfielder curled in from distance to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Reus then added his first goal as a Galaxy player after LA opened up Atlanta’s back line. Gabriel Pec sent a low cross to Reus, and the former Germany international’s effort was saved early on before easily tapping the rebound to double the Galaxy’s lead.
The win moved the Galaxy within four points of Inter Miami in the Supporters’ Shield race as they claimed their 15th win of the MLS season Meanwhile, Atlanta remained in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and 20th overall after suffering its 12th loss of the campaign.
GK: Brad Guzan – 8/10 – He made a good save in the first half, but his handling was unconvincing. He made a stunning save to deny Paintsil from the spot.
RB: Brooks Lennon – 6/10 – It wasn’t Lennon’s best performance. The US international didn’t see much time on the ball and left too much space behind when he got forward.
CB: Stian Gregersen – 5/10 – He struggled to contain Joseph Paintsil for most of the game. The Norwegian international hopes to perform better in the upcoming match against Charlotte FC.
CB: Derrick Williams – 5/10 – The former DC United defender rose to make several key interceptions in the opening 45. However, he faded as the game wore on and was partly to blame for both of the Galaxy’s goals.
LB: Pedro Amador – 5/10 – One of Atlanta’s new recruits was connecting well with his teammates on the left side. However, he left a lot to be desired in defense and collided with Williams at the end, which led to Puig’s shot.
CM: Jay Fortune – 7/10 – Fortune took on the No.10 role in the first half when Atlanta were in possession, pulling the strings and playing Silva in goal early on.
CM: Bartosz Slisz – 6/10 – The Poland international was quite inconsistent in the first half with some strong touches leading to turnovers. However, he helped protect the backline at times by stepping in to break up a few passes.
CM: Dax McCarty – 6/10 – The 37-year-old was solid on the ball but was exposed when the team was out of possession. Riqui Puig glided past both McCarty and Slisz with ease on numerous occasions.
RW: Saba Lobjanidze – 6/10 – Although Lobjanidze was one of Atlanta’s best players during the League Cup, he struggled to maintain his competitive form in the game of the night with poor decision-making in the final third.
ST: Jamal Thiare – 6/10 – Thiare struggled to get into much of the rhythm, but wasn’t served much in fairness.
LW: Xande Silva – 6/10 – Silva could have put Atlanta in front early on, but he didn’t with a direct shot at McCarthy. He did well to bring the ball up the pitch but missed the final ball.
Substitutes
SUB: Alexey Miranchuk (61′ for McCarthy) – 6/10 – Atlanta’s newest designated player didn’t get much time on the ball to show what he can do in his debut.
SUB: Edwin Mosquera (72′ for Silva) – 5/10 – Mosquera was everywhere after entering. At least he tried to make something happen, but to no avail.
SUB: Daniel Rios (72′ for Thiare) – 6/10 – Like Thiare, Rios also found serving hard to come by front and center.
SUB: Tyler Wolff (81′ for Lobjanidze) – N/A
manager
Rob Valentino – 6/10 – Atlanta was impressive for the first 30 minutes of the game before the team started to fall away before the break. Valentino set the team up well to get at least a point from the game, but couldn’t pivot after the Galaxy started to find rhythm with their attacking stars, something that has happened to many MLS teams in 2024.
