Atlanta United’s road struggles continued Saturday night.
The Five Stripes fell 4-1 to the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium, dropping another difficult result despite a late goal from Miguel Almirón, who found the back of the net for the second consecutive match.
New England controlled the match early and never looked back.
Carles Gil opened the scoring in the 11th minute, cutting inside onto his left foot before curling a shot from outside the box into the far corner past Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos.
The Revolution doubled their advantage in the 36th minute after a short corner led to a quick sequence of passes inside Atlanta’s defensive third. Alhassan Yusuf found space on the right side of the box and sent a low ball toward goal, where Dor Turgeman made a run to the near post and redirected it into the net.
Atlanta had opportunities to respond before halftime.
Almirón nearly pulled one back in the 41st minute after making a run behind New England’s back line and poking the ball past goalkeeper Matt Turner. The attempt looked promising, but it bounced off the right post.
Two minutes later, Almirón tested Turner again with a powerful strike from long range, but the goalkeeper tipped the shot over the crossbar.
Those missed opportunities proved costly.
New England extended its lead to 3-0 in the 56th minute when Peyton Miller finished a cross at the back post. Gil started the play by splitting Atlanta’s back line with a pass to Yusuf, who delivered the ball across the face of goal.
Brooklyn Raines added the Revolution’s fourth goal in the 67th minute after combining with Jackson Yueill near the edge of the box. Raines completed the give-and-go and placed a left-footed shot into the lower corner.
Atlanta finally broke through in the 86th minute with one of its best attacking sequences of the night.
Almirón played the ball forward to Alexey Miranchuk, and a quick series of one-touch passes involving Miranchuk and Cayman Togashi created space inside the box. Miranchuk then found Almirón, who smashed a left-footed shot into the net.
Miranchuk and Togashi were both credited with assists on the goal.
The finish gave Almirón goals in back-to-back matches after he also scored the equalizer in Atlanta’s 2-2 draw against Charlotte FC.
However, the late strike did little to change the outcome.
Atlanta United now sits at 3-11-3 with 12 points and remains in desperate need of consistency as the club continues its extended road stretch.
The Five Stripes return to action on Saturday, Aug. 1, when they travel to face the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
For Atlanta, the message is simple.
The flashes are there.
The fight is there.
But the results still are not.
