Almada, Giakoumakis Star as Atlanta Crush Revs 4-1 in Home Opener

It was a exhilarating night in Mercedes-Benz Stadium history. The Five Stripes put on an absolute show on Saturday night, steamrolling the New England Revolution 4-1 in the 2024 home opener. Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis were the stars of the show, with Almada netting a first half penalty and Giakoumakis bagging a hat trick after the break. The Greek goal machine is the talk of the town after his three-goal demolition, bringing the Atlanta faithful to their feet with each thunderous finish. Between the electrifying goals and rocking stadium atmosphere, Atlanta United kicked off the home slate in style.

Almada Opens Scoring Before Giakoumakis Hat Trick in Dominant 4-1 Win

If you missed Atlanta United’s home opener Saturday night, you missed a show. The 22 year old, Thiago Almada opened his MLS account by coolly converting a penalty just before halftime to give the Five Stripes a 1-0 lead.

However the night belonged to Giorgos Giakoumakis. The Greek striker bagged a second-half hat trick to cement a 4-1 victory in front of 67,272 raucous fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Minutes after Almada’s icebreaker, Giakoumakis doubled Atlanta’s lead from the spot. He sent the keeper the wrong way again, rolling the ball into the bottom left corner.

The goals kept coming. In the 60th minute, Giakoumakis thunderously headed home a cross from Brooks Lennon. His hat trick goal was a thing of beauty – he chested down a deflected Almada shot and volleyed a curling left-footed strike into the side netting.

Atlanta’s front three of Almada, Giakoumakis and Xande Silva caused problems for New England all night with their pace, movement and interplay. The Five Stripes outshot the Revs 17 to 7 and deserved the three points.

Sure, the Revs scored a late consolation to avoid the shutout in the 83rd minute when Carles Gil curled a shot past Atlanta keeper Alec Kann. But it was too little too late for the Revs, who had no answer for Atlanta’s dynamic front line on a night when the Five Stripes looked every bit the title contenders their fans hope they’ll be.

”The most important thing to me was the change of pace. Once we broke a couple lines, we were all in, four or five players running towards the goal. And then that brought the energy up. And then with the first goal, we kind of closed out the half with a positive mindset.” said Coach Pineda post game.

It was Atlanta’s night. In front of the third largest soccer crowd, the Five Stripes delivered an electrifying victory to open the 2024 campaign. The attacking talent overwhelmed the Revs from start to finish, with Almada and Giakoumakis putting on a show. Four goals, some slick passing sequences. Sure, the defense showed a few cracks late on and allowed a consolation goal. But overall, the Giakoumakis-Almada partnership is off to a flying start this was total domination against a quality opponent. If the attack keeps clicking like this, Atlanta will be a force to reckon with in the East. The talent is there, and the confidence is building. Strap in Five Stripes fans, it’s going to be a fun season.

”The most important thing is to win week in and week out, and the team is first. I really mean that. It sounds strange, but if I win the Golden Boot and the team doesn’t do well in the season, I won’t be happy. So, I need a good combination of these two, the collective and the individual success.” said Giorgos Giakoumakis on his play during the match.

And there you have it folks, another dominant home performance from the Five Stripes. Atlanta United (1-1-0, 3 points) returns to action Sunday, March 17 when it hosts Orlando City SC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is set at 7:00 p.m.