Atlanta United and the Columbus Crew have gone toe to toe and blow for blow in the first two matches of their Round One Best-of-3 series, producing some of the most entertaining soccer of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs thus far.
And this bout will go the distance.
The Five Stripes held serve to force a Match 3 with their impressive 4-2 win at a festive Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday night, inspired by a comprehensive display from striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, who scored their opener with a thumping header and played provider on ATL’s next two tallies.
The tie now returns to central Ohio, where the Crew won 2-0 in Match 1 last week at Lower.com Field. It's win-or-go-home on Sunday (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
“After game one, we said, 'round one.' We took it on the chin,” Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan told reporters postgame. “Round two, we came in and we said right, we're going forward here. Our backs are against the wall. We got to go for it. And so that was round two. It's all to play for in round three.”
Almada's back
ATLUTD were buoyed by the return of playmaker Thiago Almada from a red-card suspension in Match 1, and the freshly-crowned MLS Young Player of the Year duly stepped up with a gorgeous dinked finish for his team’s final goal.
“Huge difference. We needed a player that can be behind the lines, within the channels, turn around and change the game from one side to the other or play vertical,” Giakoumakis told MLS Season Pass about Almada. “We missed that a lot in the last game. So it’s really obvious when we are all healthy and without any red cards or whatever, and our roster is complete, then I think we are really competitive.
“I’m super proud, I’m super proud,” said the Greek international and MLS Newcomer of the Year. “Because we were one game down, we had a terrible game, I can tell, in the first game … so we had to bounce back. We did it in the best possible way, and now we’re halfway there.”
Almada’s tally was effectively icing on the cake thanks to the efforts of Giakoumakis, whose complete No. 9 skillset may yet prove just as crucial for the side’s MLS Cup hopes. The frontrunner was just as much a creator as a marksman on this occasion, playing a game-high five key passes, while also working diligently against the ball to harry the Crew’s methodical possession buildups.
“I would say we were aggressive and very disciplined tactically,” said Atlanta head coach Gonzalo Pineda. “These types of games against Columbus require us to be tactically disciplined and we were. We were aggressive, pressing hard, and pressing together, which is great against a team that plays very well from the back.
“It was impressive how many times we were able to disrupt the opponent, and then we were able to rush the final third. I think today we had just a few shots on goal, but we had the pressure, the crosses, and the numbers inside the box to make it happen. I think this is an ideal scenario for this team.”
Muyumba shines
Another linchpin was French central midfielder Tristan Muyumba, the top performer in a rugged engine-room battle.
“Tristan\] had an outstanding game in a game when we were playing against one of the best midfields in the league,” said Pineda. “[Aidan Morris and \[Darlington\] Nagbe are one of the best pairs in the league at the moment, and today, what the midfield\] did, whether it was \[[Ajani Fortune] and Muyumba, or \[Matheus\] Rossetto and Muyumba, it was amazing.
“We really put together a good rhythm and were really disrupting [Columbus] on and off the ball. Our midfield was really, really solid, and Tristan probably shined a little bit more just because we gave him a more free-floating role so he could press.”
Everything was clicking so fluidly for Atlanta that the hosts could afford to laugh off Xande Silva’s glaring miss on an empty-net tap-in from a Giakoumakis pass that would’ve notched a brace for the Portuguese winger. Silva might well have had yet another colorful celebration up his sleeve after donning a Spider-Man mask to mark his first tally, a tribute to his young son watching at home.
“It was of course a mistake from Xande,” said Pineda, “but that reaction from the whole team to come together and support him in that moment, it wasn’t easy, because at times those mental breaks where you miss a good goal, those can be a mental break for the team. We were able to come together as a team and overcome that adversity though, and then the fans came together and were cheering for Xande, understanding that it could happen to anyone.”
Columbus falter
True to form, Columbus showed little inclination to park the bus and defend their series advantage, knitting together some pretty passing sequences and clambering back from their early deficit via a razor-sharp strike from Cucho Hernández, who has scored three goals in these first two playoff games.
But the Crew were let down by slipshod defensive work, particularly in their own penalty box. Giakoumakis was left all alone for a free header from close range on the opener and neither Silva nor Edwin Mosquera were tracked on their late runs before finishing.
“We were not clean,” said head coach Wilfried Nancy, lamenting his side’s inability to build on the momentum provided by Cucho’s equalizer.
Strikingly, albeit perhaps not surprisingly, Nancy saw an excessively defensive posture at times that undermined his expansive, pass-happy game model.
“We have to be aggressive, the way we [play],” he said. “If we play with a flat back five, we’re going defend and defend and defend, and this is not what we want. So we need to adjust a little bit more.”
