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Match recap: Atlanta United’s road form continues with efficient win over CF Montréal

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2 weeks ago

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Recent road form for the 5-Stripes has been a bright spot, and Wednesday night’s contest continued the trend. Atlanta United downed CF Montréal 3-0 with eloquent buildup and simple finishes, keeping their playoff hopes alive. It was their fifth match unbeaten away from home, as their front three were heavily involved in goalscoring.

What happened

Breel Embolo was ruled offside after slipping through on goal in the 2nd minute, as Atlanta United jumped out the gate with energy. The fluidity of the attack was apparent, and the 5-Stripes fired off 5 shots within the first 15 minutes, the most they’ve had all season through the first 15.

Alexis Sanchez forced a Lucas Hoyos save in the 16th minute, part of a lively start to the game for the Chilean.

Miguel Almirón thrust the 5-Stripes ahead in the 22nd minute with a curling, outside-the-box strike. It capped another smooth move from Atlanta’s attack, starting with Alexey Miranchuk out on the right, switching to the left with Báez and ending with Almirón’s strike. It tapped off the right post and into the net for 1-0.

Giuliano Galoppo had a shot saved following another keen cut-in by Miranchuk in the 25th minute.

Montréal struggled to carve out real attacking chances over the remainder of the first half until Atlanta used a set piece to double their lead in the 42nd minute. A free kick cross from Miguel Almirón found Júnior Alonso. His squared pass was cleared and found Paulo Díaz, who clipped in a bending cross to Embolo. His header was straight at Sébastian Breza in goal, but it was powerful enough to bounce off the keeper’s gloves and to the feet of Galoppo. He tapped the ball over the line to give Atlanta United a commanding 2-0 advantage.

That was enough to take the visiting 5-Stripes into the break ahead, even despite having under 40% of the possession. The staggering difference lied in the expected goals, as Atlanta United led in xG production 1.81 to 0.06 at half.

The first half’s start was slow, but Atlanta United got a third in the 60th minute. It was Breel Embolo’s first goal from open play in his Atlanta United career. A clever backheel from Miranchuk after winning the ball with a high press was played onto Jay Fortune. He crossed to Almirón, whose shot was saved off the line by a collision between Breza and his defender. That clash allowed Embolo to tap the ball in, another easy finish for the 5-Stripes.

It was still Montréal earning the majority of possession, but Atlanta United were ruthless when they got looks.

Almirón and Miranchuk and combined for a fourth goal that was quickly ruled back, as the Paraguayan’s cross hit Miranchuk’s hand before bouncing into the net in the 75th minute. Almirón took a hard tackle from Efraín Morales in the 78th minute. He came off four minutes later as head coach Tata Martino used the rest of his substitutes to rotate the side.

The match looked like it was slowing to its conclusion, as Atlanta United were plenty happy with letting the match settle down until the final whistle. That was until added time, when Hennadii Synchuk hit the crossbar with a rogue effort in the 91st minute and Olger Escobar did the same minutes later. Neither yielded a consolation, and the 5-Stripes walked away with a win and a clean sheet.

Standouts

  • Miguel Almirón played up and down the wing all evening with energy and positional awareness. He scored the first of the night with a longshot, and his strike led to Embolo’s goal.
  • Alexey Miranchuk was a maestro all over the park, having an indirect hand in all three of Atlanta United’s goals on the evening.

Milestones

  • Miguel Almirón tied Josef Martínez and Miles Robinson with 111th MLS regular season start for Atlanta United.
  • Elías Báez had his 6th assist of the 2026 MLS season, tying Miranchuk and Almirón for most on the team.
  • Breel Embolo scored his second goal for the 5-Stripes and his first in open play.

Up next

Atlanta United comes back home for a high-profile matchup with Inter Miami CF October 17.

Adam Jasper – Managing Editor

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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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