Two goals from Emmanuel Latte Lath and a final one from Edwin Mosquera in the 85th minute lifted Atlanta United to a 3-2 win against Montreal in Saturday’s season-opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Mosquera’s goal came from a curling right-footed shot taken from the corner of the 18-yard box and into the upper right corner. It was assisted by Latte Lath and Miguel Almiron. Mosquera’s goal gave new manager Ronny Deila his first win and added some shine to the announced attendance of 65,520.
“We came back three times,” Deila said. “We get the three points in the end in the first game, with so much attention before the game. I’m proud of the boys, what they did. But this was a game of two halves.”
The assist capped a triumphant debut for Latte Lath. His first goal came from a set piece. The second came from opportunity. He became the first player in club history to score two goals in his first appearance. In addition to the results, there were many times during the match the rebuilt attack, which featured Almiron making his return, looked quick and clever.
“I came here with ambition,” Latte Lath said. “So I’m really happy for the team.”
They helped the team overcome key mistakes that resulted in Montreal scoring two goals that looked like many others allowed since 2019. One came from odd decisions by defenders. The other came from a corner kick.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Deila’s first lineup featured all of the team’s important offseason acquisitions with Latte Lath, bought for $22 million in the recent window, midfielders Almiron, bought for $11 million in the recent window, Alexey Miranchuk, bought last year for $14 million, Saba Lobjanidze, Bartosz Slisz and Mateusz Klich, fullbacks Ronald Hernandez and Matthew Edwards, centerbacks Stian Gregersen and Luis Abram, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who became the first player in club history to appear in 200 regular season matches.
Latte Lath and Klich were making their first starts. Almiron was making his first start since he left the club after 2018. Edwards was making his second-ever start and he became the 11th Homegrown to start a league match for the club.
Latte Lath’s first flash came in the fifth minute when he ran onto a long pass, cut inside onto his left foot, created space and hammered a left-footed shot toward the lower right corner. The shot was saved.
Almiron was next in the seventh minute with a mazy run from the right that included a 1-2 pass with Lobjanidze and ended with a defender chopping him down and giving Atlanta United a free kick about 30 yards from goal in the center of the pitch. The free kick taken by Miranchuk was deflected.
Atlanta United put together numerous pretty passing sequences but couldn’t beat goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
Atlanta United got its lead from a set piece when Latte Lath headed in a corner kick taken by Lobjanidze in the 42nd minute. Lotte Lath was unmarked about six yards from goal. He became the eighth player to score in his Atlanta United debut.
“I jumped,” Latte Lath said when asked to describe the goal.
Atlanta United finished the half with nine shots, five on goal, with an expected goals of 1.2, to Montreal’s three, one and 0.5.
In a flashback to last season, when unforced errors were plentiful for Atlanta United, Montreal tied the match at 1 in the 47th minute in part because of several mistakes, one when any of the midfielders failed to win a ball near midfield, followed by poor decisions by Abram, Gregersen and Hernandez. Abram was beaten by Prince Owusu and failed to chase him after he got away. Gregersen sprinted over and dove with an outstretched leg at Owusu, who was still yards away. With no one near him, and standing in the 18-yard box, Owusu had time to float a cross to Nathan Saliba at the back post for an easy header. Henderson drifted inside, leaving Saliba open.
Deila said that fatigue played a factor in the team’s poor half, as well as players taking too many touches and not being patient.
“There’s going to be points in this game where it’s not going to be perfect for us, and it’s certainly probably longer stretches than we would have liked,” Guzan said. “We allowed the game to become too open. We got some tired legs. If you give the opposition time and space to deliver crosses, pick passes, there’s good enough players on every team to be able to do that.”
Montreal came close to scoring two more times in the 60th and 61st minutes with shots that flew inches past each upright of Guzan’s goal.
After nervously starting the half, Latte Lath struck again, this time pouncing on a loose ball six yards from goal, to give Atlanta United a 2-1 lead in the 63rd minute. Hernandez chipped a pass over Montreal’s back line and into the center of the 18-yard box to Almiron, who headed it toward the goal. Sorios came out to collect the loose ball but collided with teammate Luca Petrasso before he could control Almiron’s attempted pass. The ball fell to Latte Lath.
“It’s a goal for a striker because you need to be in the box,” Latte Lath said.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Montreal tied the match at 2 in the 71st minute on a goal by Owusu on a corner kick. The ball was played to the back post, where former Atlanta United player George Campbell beat Gregersen to the ball and headed it back across goal for Owusu to tap in.
Gregersen, Klich and Lobjanidze were subbed off for Derrick Williams, Jay Fortune and Mosquera in the 83rd minute.
Almiron’s assist on Mosquera’s goal made him the fourth player in club history to reach 50 goal contributions in regular-season matches.
“I’m really happy to come back and play here,” Almiron said. “It’d been a while since I had feelings like I did tonight. So it’s not just about me teaching my teammates, I’m also learning a lot from them.”
Montreal’s Sunusi Abrahim missed a close-ranger header in stoppage time that should have tied the match at 3. He hit the crossbar with a shot a few seconds later.
The final stats showed how close the game was, despite Atlanta United’s dominance in the first half. Atlanta United finished with an expected goals of 2.2 to Montreal’s 3.6.
“Learn from experience, and we learn with winning, and I think that’s more fun, more easy,” Deila said.
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