A disjointed display results in points dropped for Atlanta’s first road trip to Charlotte.
Player Ratings
GK Brad Guzan 3: The only thing we really have to judge Guzan on in this one turned out to be the most consequential moment of the game. Whether you chalk to down to misjudging the flight or prioritizing his positioning in the box over the flight of the ball, he will be the first to say he should never allow that ball to go in his net.
RB Brooks Lennon 5: Lennon was very absent — he registered the fewest amount of touches of any player who went the full 90. I chalk this down mostly to tactical incohesion rather than individual failings. But he was unable to make an imprint on the game.
CB Alan Franco 5: Played only an hour and honestly didn’t have much to do. He was only involved in one duel as the central CB in a back 3, which makes one wonder whether Atlanta couldn’t have just dealt with Charlotte’s forwards in a back 4.
CB George Campbell 6: Campbell was fine. Nothing special, nothing egregiously bad. Just fine.
CB Miles Robinson 5: Interestingly, Robinson plays on the right in a back 3, while he plays as the left CB when the team plays in a back four. He was not great SUnday, passing below 80%, winning only 2 of 7 aerial duels, and generally not helping the team progress the ball into the attacking phase when Atlanta was in a back 3.
LB Andrew Gutman 7: Gutman sneakily had a great game. He was all over the place, including coming inside when the team needed him too. He was involved in an amazing 18 duels, winning 10 of them. And he got into the box for Atlanta’s best attempt on goal in the game.
CM Santiago Sosa 6: Sosa was tidy passing at over 90% and only dispossessed once in the match. It’s a positive step as Sosa returns from his offseason surgery, and it was good to see him get 80+ minutes today. By next weekend he will be a 90-minute regular.
CM Amar Sejdic 6: A very solid performance from Sejdic, who had only 3 incomplete passes, was dispossessed only once, and won 5/6 duels (though 4 of those duel wins were through winning dribbles or fouls.)
AM Marcelino Moreno 6: Moreno did a ton of work in the game — he was constantly getting on the ball and often getting promptly dragged down by his shirt sleeves. That said, the overall speed of play seemed to slow down when Moreno found the ball, leading to some concerns about how he’s used in Gonzalo Pineda’s system.
AM Thiago Almada 8: For as “blah” as the result and the game itself may feel, Thiago Almada was the gem of the game, standing out as the best player on the pitch. He passed at 88 percent, an incredibly high rate given his position in the team as a creative hub. And it’s not down to conservative passes — he had 6 key passes (shot assists) including one “big chance created” when he slipped in Dom Dwyer behind Charlotte’s back line.
Dom Dwyer 5: Had chances (0.46 xG to be exact) to score and did not convert. Simple as that.
SUB Franco Ibarra 6: Helped Atlanta control the game with his introduction. He should be in the starting lineup soon.
SUB Jake Mulraney 5: Never really got involved in the game in a meaningful way in his half hour.
SUB Ronaldo Cisneros 6: Showed some speed and energy up top in his debut. Those will be useful qualities going forward. IMO he looked more useful than Dwyer, but that’s in the eye of the beholder.
SUB Caleb Wiley NA
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