A goal from Portuguese Xande Silva in the 94th minute gave the Atlanta United a long-suffering 2-1 home win against Inter Miami and forced the third and deciding game of the first round series of the playoffs MLS. We will have to wait for next Saturday’s clash at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale to settle this pairing, after Atlanta overcame a serious mistake by their goalkeeper Brad Guzan, paid for by a goal from Paraguayan David Martínez, and turn the corner at the marker.
Irishman Derrick Williams, with a header on the hour mark, and Xande Silva, with a powerful right foot five minutes after taking the field, gave Atlanta United life. Inter Miami, champions of the Supporters’ Shield for the best team of the regular season, scored seconds before with a header from Messi, but the goal was rightly disallowed for offside.
Atlanta United lost with honor to Miami in the first game of the series and this Saturday the Mercedes Benz Stadium opened all sectors of the facility, something unusual for an MLS match, to have the maximum possible support from its fans. Confidence was palpable in the local team, which pushed hard against an Inter Miami that was finally without Sergio Busquets, who is suffering from physical discomfort and is in no danger of worsening his condition.
Inter Miami’s goalkeeper, Drake Callender, came up with a great save half an hour into the game to repel a powerful left-footed shot from Russian Aleksey Miranchuk from outside the area, and on the other side of the field, veteran Brad Guzan made a serious. mistake that thwarted Atlanta’s efforts. With the ball in his hands, the 40-year-old goalkeeper completely failed to serve, annoyed by the presence of Federico Redondo, and the ball reached the boot of Martínez, who put Inter Miami ahead.
Inter Miami gained confidence and, with Messi lighting up the game, created potentially dangerous situations, but were unable to capitalize on them. And Atlanta was able to respond. With time running out, Pedro Amador delivered a perfect left cross that Derrick Williams, another central defender, put into the back of the net.
The match turned out to be a round-trip match, where either team could win. Messi came close to scoring an Olympic goal, something he had never achieved in his career, in the 70th minute, and would have given his team a place in extra time, but his header was disallowed because offside.
In the shadow of penalties looming, Atlanta pounced. He did it with the help of Xande Silva, who celebrated in style by taking off his shirt. He wasn’t even interested in the yellow card the referee showed him. The series will be decided in Miami.
TECHNICAL SHEET
2 – Atlanta United: Guzan; Hernandez, Abram, Williams, Amador; Fortune (Silva, m.89), Slisz, McCarty (Muyumba, m.71), Lobjanidze; Miranchuk, Thiare (River, m.78).
Coach: Rob Valentino
1 – InterMiami: Callender; Avilés, Martínez, Allen (Campana, m.84); Weigandt, Maliwanag (Cremaschi, m.46), Redondo, Alba; Messi, Suárez, Gómez (Rojas, m.84).
Coach: Gerardo Martino
Objectives: 1-0, Martínez (m. 40); 1-1, Williams (d. 58); 2-1, Silva (m. 94)
Referee: Rubiel Vázquez (USA). He showed yellow cards to Hernández (m.45), Williams (m.64), Slisz (m.93) and Silva (m.95), from Atlanta, and Avilés, from Inter Miami.
Incidents: Second game of the best-of-three series corresponding to the first round of the MLS playoffs played at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta (USA).
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
