New England Revolution 0, Atlanta United 2 | 2019 MLS Match Recap

Ezequiel Barco came off the bench to score his first MLS brace to lead Atlanta United to their first regular season win of the season, defeating the New England Revolution, 2-0, Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

Barco entered as a substitute for Eric Remedi in the 15th minute after the Argentine suffered a clash of heads with Luis Caicedo.

The visitors jumped in front just before the half-hour mark when Hector Villalba beat Andrew Farrell to the endline and cut a ball back to Barco, who tapped in.

Barco had his brace 20 minutes later, chasing down and settling a Villalba service before unleashing a sensational curling attempt from just inside the 18-yard box to double the Five Stripes lead.

If not for some last-ditch defending from Farrell, the scoreline would have been more lopsided.

Goals

• 29’ — ATL — Ezequiel Barco | WATCH
• 49’ — ATL — Ezequiel Barco | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: It took a lot longer than many expected, but the defending MLS Cup champions finally captured their first win of the 2019 regular season after two losses and two draws in their first four games. After taking one step forward with a gritty 2-1 win over Minnesota United, the Revs took two steps back with back-to-back losses without scoring a goal.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: Barco sealed the match with this stunning golazo.

MAN OF THE MATCH: While Frank de Boer has faced plenty of criticism in his first few games in charge of Atlanta, it seems that Barco has benefitted from the coaching change or maybe he's just more comfortable in Year 2. Either way, he has three goals in his last three games — one less than he accrued in 26 appearances under Tata Martino in 2018.

Next Up

• NE: Saturday, April 20 vs. New York Red Bulls (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada)
• ATL: Saturday, April 20 vs. FC Dallas (4:00 pm ET | ESPN, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)