Atlanta United 3-3 DC United (5-6 on penalties): Player ratings as visitors earn two points in Leagues Cup opener
- DC United prevailed on penalty kicks after both teams were tied after 90 minutes played
- Both teams combined for five goals in the first half
- Atlanta's Daniel Rios and DC's Jared Stroud both bagged braces
A brace from Jared Stroud was enough for DC United to outlast Atlanta United 3-3 (5-6 on penalties) in the Group Stage of Leagues Cup 2024.
The visitors opened the scoring inside five minutes after a terrible mistake from Josh Cohen. The former Maccabi Haifa player attempted to clear the ball out of his own box but it ended up going straight up into the air, as Dominique Badji reacted quickly to play a quick headed pass to Christian Benteke.
Benteke forced Cohen into yet another mistake, taking the ball up and over the 31-year-old before finding the back of an open net to score the first goal of Leagues Cup 2024.
However, the hosts would respond at the 20-minute mark. Brooks Lennon picked up a loose ball down the right-hand side after Saba Lobjanidze's cross was blocked, and the former Real Salt Lake defender sent in a curling cross that Daniel Rios headed home to level the score.
Moments after bringing the game to level terms, Lennon -- who set up Rios' headed goal -- became the next Atlanta defensive player to commit a grave error in the match. Lennon attempted to head the ball backward toward Cohen or another fellow defender, but it instead fell directly into Jared Stroud's path. Stroud had a free run at goal and made no mistake, sending a shot across the face of goal to put DC back in front at 2-1.
Stroud would go on to add his second of the match just a few minutes later, stunning the fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta's Stian Gregersen attempted to head a DC cross out of his box, but it fell to Stroud who took a quick touch before firing home a sizzling volleyed strike to make it 3-1.
After Stroud's golazo, Lobjandize decided he would score an absolute peach of a goal himself to bring Atlanta back within one. The Georgia international picked up a loose ball on the left-hand side of DC's penalty area before cutting inside on his right foot to send in a perfectly-placed strike that Bono couldn't keep out.
The Five Stripes were awarded a penalty kick after DC's Lucas Bartlett pulled down Rios inside his own penalty area. Referee Fernando Guerrero Ramirez confirmed the decision after finally going to the VAR monitor, but Bono stepped up to deny Bartosz Slisz from 12 yards out to keep the Black and Red in front 3-2.
Despite missing from the penalty spot, Atlanta would have another crack at after Jamal Thiare was taken down by Aaron Herrera. This time, Rios stepped up and hammered home the attempt to bring the score to 3-3 with less than 10 minutes remaining in normal time.
As the match was all square after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, each team received one point in the East Group 7 standings given the Leagues Cup rules. In the end, Bono would go on to save Slisz's second penalty attempt of the night during the shootout to propel the Black and Red to victory 6-5.
Atlanta United player ratings ( 4-3-3 )
GK: Josh Cohen - 5/10 - Gave DC an early lead after a series of blunders. He probably should've done better on Stroud's first goal even though Lennon was at fault. Not much he could've done on Stroud's second goal but he sort of made up for by saving Klich's attempt during the shootout.
RB: Brooks Lennon - 5/10 - His exceptional assist for Rios' headed goal was wiped out by his headed backward pass right into Stroud's path. Didn't make things better by missing his penalty attempt.
CB: Stian Gregersen - 5/10 - Was out-jumped by Badji on the opening goal and his attempted clearance fell right into Stroud's path for the DC winger's second goal.
CB: Derrick Williams - 6/10 - His positioning was a bit all over the place in the early going but he improved as the game wore on.
LB: Ronald Hernandez - 6/10 - The player neither helped nor hindered his team.
CM: Tristan Muyumba - 6/10 - A quiet performance from Muyumba who didn't really see much time on the ball in the midfield.
CM: Ajani Fortune - 6/10 - Fortune was mostly solid outside of a few stray passes in his own half.
CM: Bartosz Slisz - 5/10 - The Poland international had the opportunity to bring Atlanta to equal terms but failed to do so with a poor penalty attempt. Things got worse for Slisz as he couldn't convert his attempt during the shootout.
RW: Saba Lobjanidze - 8/10 - Pulled one back in the first half with a brilliant strike from outside the box. Converted his penalty attempt with ease.
ST: Daniel Rios - 8/10 - Rios continues to show up for Atlanta despite being signed as one of the back-up strikers.
LW: Xande Silva - 6/10 - Carried the ball nicely up the pitch to kickstart attacks. Unfortunate to be substituted off at halftime as he was starting to pick up momentum near the end of the first half.
Substitutes
SUB: Jamal Thiare (46' for Silva) - 7/10 - Failed to put away a golden opportunity when he was one-on-one with Bono. However, he did earn Atlanta another penalty attempt moments later and converted his penalty attempt.
SUB: Dax McCarty (46' for Fortune) - 6/10 - Didn't really bring much in the middle of the park after coming on. He managed to fire home his penalty attempt in a nonchalant manner.
SUB: Pedro Amador (76' for Muyumba) - 6/10 - Not much to write home about in Amador's debut.
SUB: Nick Firmino (90' for Rios) - 7/10 - Did well to convert his attempt during the penalty shootout.
Manager
Rob Valentino (Interim Head Coach) - 7/10 - His lineup was just about spot on given Atlanta's current squad status, and it wasn't his fault that Cohen (and Lennon) made a couple of costly mistakes early on. As the team has no real No. 10 after the departure of Thiago Almada, Valentino's move to deploy a 4-3-3- system over the usual 4-2-3-1 has given Atlanta a little more when going forward. The team was unlucky to advance on penalties but are still alive as they picked up point after 90 minutes played.