Last year, I dragged my friend to Atlanta United’s game against Toronto FC to watch the Canadian team’s Italian trio of Federico Bernardeschi, Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Criscito. She needed less convincing to go see Atlanta United face Inter Miami’s former Barcelona trio of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi on Sept. 16, with extra emphasis on Messi.
I should have known the risks of paying more than the average MLS ticket price to see Messi play. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, uses artificial turf, a surface that Messi reportedly is not keen to play on because of an increased risk of injury. Additionally, Miami will play Houston Dynamo FC in the U.S. Open Cup final on Sept. 27 for a chance to win the second title in team history. Coaches and team executives would likely not have wanted Messi to pick up an injury on the road before such an important game.
So, it should not have been surprising on Sept. 16 to see headlines that Messi would not be playing against Atlanta. However, I was not expecting to wake up and see images of a mostly-tomato-covered pizza all over social media. It was humorous yet devastating proof that I would not get to see the “G.O.A.T.” play. Since Messi was at Banchero Pizza in Miami, it was clear that he had not traveled with his team to Atlanta.
Despite this, upon entering the stadium for the game, I was no longer thatdisappointed. The stadium was packed. This was quite a different experience compared to the game I attended last season when only half of the seats were full. More importantly, I saw a sea of red Atlanta United jerseys, not Inter Miami’s bright pink (with a No. 10 on the back). While Inter Miami may be America’s team at the moment with Miami fans taking over opponent’s stadiums for every Miami away game, it was reassuring to see that is not the case in Atlanta.
Atlanta is expected to compete in the MLS playoffs, and it’s one of the highest-scoring teams in the league. This is a significant improvement on last year’s mediocre season where the team didn't even make the playoffs. Miami is currently 14th in the Eastern Conference in need of a long winning streak to earn a playoff spot, so a win in Atlanta would have greatly helped Miami achieve this goal.
Both the players and the fans were determined to stop Miami, with the fans making as much noise as possible in the stadium. Atlanta had much of the early possession, but Miami forward Leonardo Campana opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a counter-attack goal. There was a loud cheer around the stadium from fans wearing both Miami and Argentina jerseys.
The Miami goal sparked the Atlanta attack into life. Atlanta midfielder Tristan Muyumba’s glancing header barely crossed the line in the 36th minute to tie the game. Atlanta continued their late first half wave of attack, forcing Miami defender Kamal Miller to score an own goal in the 41st minute. Atlanta defender Brooks Lennon scored with an open shot in the box to give Atlanta the 3-1 lead at halftime.
Campana scored a penalty early in the second half to bring the score to 3-2, but as the game went on, Atlanta attack took over, in large part due to several runs from Atlanta midfielder Thiago Almada. Atlanta forwards Giorgos Giakoumakis and Tyler Wolff scored two late goals to cement the 5-2 win for Atlanta.
This Atlanta win was significant on many levels. The team stopped Miami head coach Tata Martino and Miami forward Josef Martinez from getting a win against their former team that they won the MLS Cup with in 2018. They handed Inter Miami its first loss in the Messi era, succeeding where many good teams, including Cincinnati FC and the Philadelphia Union, have struggled. It was also a clear reminder that Atlanta is an improving team hoping to make a deep run in the postseason this year.
