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Match recap: Atlanta United drops match to FC Cincinnati’s second-half surge

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2 weeks ago

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Atlanta United fell in an important Eastern Conference fixture against FC Cincinnati Saturday night. Buildup play was a strong suit for the 5-Stripes, but three second half goals from the Orange and Blue cemented a 3-1 loss.

What happened

Atlanta United began with a string of possession, and Giuliano Galoppo won a free kick and a yellow card for Cincinnati in the 3rd minute. It was part of a dominant first 5 minutes for the hosts.

In the 6th, Miguel Almirón got on the end of an intelligent floated cross from Tristan Muyumba and nearly took the lead. The captain’s strike bounced away left of the frame.

Tom Barlow got on the end of a smooth sequence from Cincinnati in the 12th minute, but his shot was skied above the goal.

The match settled into a game of popcorn ball in the middle of the first half, with lofted passes and headers aplenty. Cincinnati got a great look for Kévin Denkey after a couple deflections in the 27th minute, but Elías Báez came flying in to make a block about 12 yards out from goal. A minute later, the visitors nearly took the lead again with a direct pass through to Barlow after a turnover by the 5-Stripes. His curling shot didn’t bend enough and went wide.

Atlanta’s buildup play got more fluid by the minute, and in the 40th they got another good look. Embolo, to Tomás Jacob, to Muyumba, all combining on the right side forced a Cincy save.

That was it for the first half, one where neither team could separate despite some great looks at goal. Atlanta United were preventing full on counterattacks, but they were caught sleeping in half transition moments. Going forward, they were passing circles around the visitors in moments, but they didn’t have the final pass.

Galoppo got off to a good start, ripping a shot at Roman Celentano in the 46th minute. But it was Cincinnati who finally jumped out ahead in the 52nd courtesy of Denkey. The forward bumped his way through the defense after getting on the end of a long ball, cut past Lucas Hoyos in goal and found the back of the net.

Tata Martino went to Alexey Miranchuk off the bench in replacement of Jay Fortune in the 56th minute.

Hoyos and Júnior Alonso combined to keep the ball out of their own goal in the 58th after Hoyos saved another Denkey shot and Alonso headed the rebound off the line and out for a corner kick.

Almirón countered and almost found Embolo in the 61st minute, but his squared ball was too far behind the Swiss forward.

The captain, returning from international break, got his team’s breakthrough goal in the 69th minute. After numerous attempted crosses, Almirón got the ball outside the 6-yard box and darted through defenders. He combined with Embolo and got a right-footed attempt off. It trickled off Celentano and into the net for 1-1, reigniting the 5-Stripes for a late push.

Cincinnati punched back right as it seemed Atlanta United had captured the momentum. Barlow found a half space as the 5-Stripes stepped up in defense and tucked away a shot to put the visitors in front 2-1. The goal in the 84th minute was checked for offside but was confirmed.

Atlanta’s late search for an equalizer didn’t materialize, and instead Cincy added a third in the 97th minute. Denkey was the man again, hitting a first-time strike pure from a diagonal run.

Standouts

  • Miguel Almirón looked lively in his return from international duty. Almirón has been involved in a team-high 8 goals (5 goals, 3 assists) since returning from the World Cup break.

Milestones

  • Jay Fortune became Atlanta United’s all-time leader in appearances by a Homegrown player with 86.
  • Breel Embolo got his first asssit as a 5-Stripe on Miguel Almirón’s 69th-minute goal.

Up next

Atlanta United turns over quickly to a midweek road trip to Canada to face CF Montréal. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, October 14 as the 5-Stripes looks to do the double over their Eastern Conference foes.

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Match recap: Unforced errors cost Atlanta United in loss to Chicago Fire

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3 days ago

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October 24, 2026

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Against the top teams in the conference, a mistake-free match isn’t a nice-to-have but an imperative for success. The 5-Stripes created and converted on the attacking end twice, but a pair of defensive miscues in the second half were costly enough to decide the match. Atlanta United fell 3-2 to Chicago Fire in their penultimate home match of the 2026 season.

What happened

The 5-Stripes jumped out the gate with purpose, pushing forward on the right side with Tomás Jacob overlapping attackers. He was to thank for the earliest goal of Atlanta United’s season, finding room on the right side of the box from a keen through ball from Miguel Almirón. The Paraguayan had picked the ball up from midfield and dribbled all the way to the edge of the box before dishing it across to Jacob, who finished with power past Chris Brady in the 4th minute.

Chicago tried their hand at possession to settle into the match, but Atlanta United were chaotic in defense and eager to win the ball back. That early energy dissipated as the visitors kept pressing, and the Fire jumped out to

Philip Zinckernagel hit the crossbar on a rogue attempt from the left side of the box in the 25th minute that Lucas Hoyos may have gotten a touch on. Chicago did eventually find an equalizer in the 30th minute. The ball fell outside the box after a corner kick, and a crisp strike on the half volley from Anton Salétros snuck through defenders and past Hoyos.

Paulo Díaz had to make a sliding stop to prevent a possible second for Chicago in the 32nd minute, putting his body on the line to block a shot inside the box.

Breel Embolo had a great look saved by Brady in the 35th minute, as Mauricio Amaro did some lovely work to get the ball into a dangerous area. His cross was driven low, and the Swiss forward struck the ball cleanly but right at the Chicago keeper. The U.S. international picked up an injury making the save, though he carried on.

The 5-Stripes finished out the half with vigor, and Embolo scored a goal in what would eventually be ruled an offside run by Jacob before playing the cross to his forward. Things were starting to heat up just as the referee blew the whistle for halftime.

Chicago missed an open net on the first real chance of the second half, as Maren Haile-Selassie skied a chance with no one in goal. A minute later, the 5-Stripes gifted them a second goal. Substitute Anzor Mekvabishvili turned in a simple finish after winning a tackle and intercepting a routine pass at the back from Hoyos, leaving the 5-Stripes with a frustrating 2-1 deficit.

Atlanta United surrendered an indirect free kick in the 57th minute when Hoyos picked up a back pass from Elías Báez. It left Chicago with a rare free kick inside of the 6-yard box, which after a flurry of whistle restarts for players jumping too early, they dispatched for 3-1. Zinckernagel was the man to roof the ball into the net.

The 5-Stripes got one back 10 minutes later in the 67th when Breel Embolo thumped a header past Brady. Báez put in a whipped cross to the forward, whose header was pure to bring Atlanta United back into the match.

Atlanta’s striker broke away in the 70th minute and missed a golden opportunity to level the scoring. Embolo ran onto a deep clearance and got one-on-one with the keeper. but couldn’t wrap his foot around the ball. He missed the frame of the goal wide right.

So it was the hosts pressing for an equalizer down the stretch, playing a daring high line and going for points they desperately needed. They got five minutes of stoppage time to pull it off, but Chicago’s low-block defending was enough to finish off the match, and the 5-Stripes lost 3-2.

Standouts

  • Miguel Almirón continued his bright post-World-Cup form with another goal contribution, an assist where he brought the ball from midfield and ushered it to Tomás Jacob for the first goal. It was Almirón’s 15th MLS match with multiple chances created since the break, tying him with Carles Gil for most such by any MLS player in that time.

Milestones

  • Miguel Almirón became Atlanta United’s outright leader in assists on the season with 8.
  • Mauricio Amaro picked up his first two assists with the 5-Stripes with a secondary assist on both of the goals.

Up next

Atlanta United hits the road for a midweek match against New York City FC. They’ll need to pick up points to stay alive in the playoff race. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, October 28 at Citi Field in Queens.

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