Atlanta United Routed 4-0 by NYCFC in Road Defeat at Yankee Stadium

Atlanta United suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to New York City FC on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium, with three quick goals early in the second half sealing the result. The loss sends Atlanta into its longest break of the season, with the club not returning to action until June 25.

The night started with a controversial moment in the 13th minute. After a slick exchange between Alexey Miranchuk and Jamal Thiaré, the latter appeared to be brought down in the box by NYCFC goalkeeper Tomas Romero. Referee Sergii Boiko initially allowed play to continue and, after a video review, stood by his no-call, denying what Atlanta believed to be a clear penalty.

Veteran goalkeeper Brad Guzan made a crucial stop in the 22nd minute, saving a close-range header from Thiago Martins off a corner kick. Atlanta responded with pressure of its own. In the 32nd minute, Miranchuk nearly opened the scoring when he received a pass from Brooks Lennon and curled a left-footed strike off the crossbar.

Derrick Williams had the ball in the net shortly afterward, but Thiaré was ruled offside after slightly deflecting the header, wiping away what would have been the opening goal. Instead, NYCFC broke through in the 44th minute. Hannes Wolf intercepted a pass at the top of Atlanta’s box and fed Maxi Moralez, who calmly beat Guzan to put New York ahead 1-0 heading into halftime.

New York City came out flying in the second half, and Atlanta couldn’t weather the storm.

In the 54th minute, Guzan made another big save to deny Monsef Bakrar from close range, but just two minutes later, Bakrar blasted a shot into the top corner to double the lead. Wolf made it 3-0 in the 57th minute with a curling effort from inside the area, and two minutes later, he capped off a dominant five-minute stretch with his second goal of the night, pushing the scoreline to 4-0.

Atlanta was unable to generate a response, as NYCFC controlled possession and tempo the rest of the way.

Atlanta United (4-9-5, 17 points) now has 11 days to regroup before returning to the pitch on Wednesday, June 25 for a tough road matchup against defending MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.