Lions gain 1st win over Five Stripes

Photo Courtesy of Atlanta United • Atlanta United vs Orlando City SC Aug 29, 2020

Atlanta United returned to action Saturday afternoon against Orlando City SC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Orlando was coming off a 3-1 victory against Nashville SC on Aug. 26 at Exploria Stadium. Daryl Dike scored a brace and Chris Mueller netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season.

Atlanta entered the match ranked third in MLS in team passing accuracy at 85.32 percent and fourth in possession at 56.77 percent.

Atlanta was able to control play for much of the second half, claiming more than 70 percent of possession and out-shooting Orlando 8-3. Brooks Lennon put Atlanta on the board in the 83rd minute, finishing off a cross from Damm. But Orlando added a third goal from Nani three minutes later to beat Atlanta United 3-1 for the first time in club history.

“I think in the first half, we didn’t cope with their shape in midfield. We didn’t cope with the way they pressed us and the way they were using the ball. We managed to fix that in the second half. A couple of substitutions, a couple of positional changes helped us. There were things, that if you have been working with a group for several months it’s easier to fix on the fly. It took until we got into halftime for us to fix it tonight.” said Atlanta United interim head coach Stephen Glass on the team’s performance in first half vs. second half.

Atlanta United (3-4-0, 9 points) returns to action at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Wednesday, Sept. 2 against Inter Miami CF (7:00 p.m., FS1, Sports Radio 92-9 The Game).

Stay tuned for updates and coverage of Atlanta United Regular Season continuation.