Scorching Benteke was too hot to handle at Mercedes Benz Stadium

Atlanta United’s winless streak continues as they were beaten 3-2 by DC United in a nail-biting final at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last Saturday. Tricky Argentine Thiago Almada opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 16th minute, bamboozling the keeper with his jumping technique to send the keeper the wrong way. Three minutes later, former Liverpool striker Christian Benteke placed a firm header from close range to restore parity. Just before half-time, Christian Benteke sent the visitors ahead with a well-struck header from 8 yards into the bottom left corner. ‘Fortune favors the brave’ Atlanta leveled the score at 2-2 with an own goal scored by DC United’s Matti Peltola. Christian Benteke gave the traveling supporters who were among the 42,000 in attendance something to cheer about with another header from a corner to complete his hat-trick in the 55th minute.

Desperate for points to stay in the top half of the field, Atlanta made several changes to the team that won 3-0 in a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup midweek, hoping to destabilize DC United . However, coach Gonzalo Pineda returned to his starting lineup that lost 2-1 to Minnesota a few weeks ago.

The games started at a blistering pace, with Atlanta quickest out of the blocks and rewarded in the 16th minute for their smooth passing and high pressing play. Giorgos Giakoumakis initiated a foul in the penalty area and was clumsily brought down by DC United’s Christopher McVey. Captain Almada cleverly converted the penalty by wrong-footing the goalkeeper to lead 1-0. The goal marked Almada’s third goal of the season and number 20 all-time in the MLS regular season.

He becomes the third player in Atlanta United history to record at least 20 goals and 20 assists in the regular season since Miguel Almirón and Tito Villalba. Three minutes later, former Liverpool striker Christian Benteke brought the visitors level after sending in a well-timed header from Jared Stroud’s exquisite cross. It was Benteke’s 9th goal in 10 matches. Impressive Atlanta began to fade quickly after conceding this goal in the 19th minute. They failed to work the goalkeeper or form lines behind the backline.

In the 31st minute, Aaron Herrera went close after his right-footed shot from outside the area narrowly missed the left post after collecting a sublime through ball from Mateusz Klich. The game played out with possession swinging from side to side, with both teams looking for the go-ahead goal. Atlanta nearly took the lead in the 39th minute when Saba Lobjanidze’s nifty right-footed shot from a difficult angle on the right was saved in the bottom right corner after collecting a pass from Caleb Wiley.

As halftime approached, Christian Benteke proved just how lethal he is. The combination that created the first goal was synchronized with the beautiful symphony of the traveling supporters. Christian Benteke received a tailor-made pass with pinpoint accuracy from Jared Stroud, he slipped past Caleb Wiley to head home from close range into the bottom left corner to make it 2-1. With their tails held high, that’s how DC United enters halftime. Meanwhile, the Five Stripes were licking their wounds as they took a 1-0 lead. Coach Gonzalo Pineda ruffled the feathers of his team as they entered their 6th game without a win, tying their second-longest streak with a win.

Immediately, he received a welcome response from his team in the 48th minute. Matti Peltola accidentally turned Saba’s shot into a goal in his desperate attempt to block his shot. With the score tied at 2-2, DC resumed the investigation with Benteke looking for his hat-trick and his team’s third goal. He came close in quick succession in the 49th and 50th minutes. Christian Benteke first saw his left-footed shot from the middle of the area stopped in the bottom left corner by Brad Guzan (former Aston Villa teammate), following a pass from Conner Antley. The resulting corner was kicked in by Matti Peltola from a right-footed shot by Benteke from the edge of the area that sailed past the right post.

With a constant aerial threat from Benteke, he proved right in the 55th minute when he completed his hat-trick with a smart header to the far post from Mateusz Klich with a cross after a corner conceded by Caleb Wiley.

Trailing for a second time in the competition, Pineda shuffled the team in search of an equalizer. He added MLS veteran Dax McCarty, winger Xande Silva and the team’s scorers from the US Open Cup match, forward Daniel Ríos and midfielder Nick Firmino, to the mix. Despite the changes, it wasn’t enough as Atlanta United couldn’t score their third goal and fell short 3-2 against DC.

“In general, it’s very different from previous matches, very different,” Pineda said. “In the previous five matches we are normally better than the opponent and we just lacked sharpness. Today we scored two goals and created a few more, but we have to come back and get back at it. It’s fixable. “We need to get that vibe of positivity back and once we get that back, I think we’ll be fine. It’s just a difficult moment, this one, and we have to fix it. ”

Atlanta United still holds the all-time MLS series record against DC United with a 9-6-2 record and has won five of its previous seven meetings. This is the first of three matches against DC United for Atlanta this year. In addition to two MLS regular season matches, the two Eastern Conference clubs have also been included in the same group for the Leagues Cup which begins later this summer. They join Santos Laguna of Liga MX in the East Group 7.

Atlanta United will now turn their attention to their next MLS match against Cincinnati FC in an away match on Wednesday 15, 2024.