Atlanta United Draw 1-1 vs San Diego FC

In front of a raucous crowd of 43,499 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta United drew 1-1 with San Diego FC on Saturday night in the first-ever match between the clubs. It was also a milestone moment for Miguel Almirón, who scored in his 100th career appearance for the Five Stripes, becoming just the 10th player in club history to reach the century mark.

Both teams started cautiously, battling between the boxes with little space to operate. Atlanta thought it had struck first in the 27th minute when Bartosz Slisz won possession deep in midfield and sparked a counterattack. Saba Lobjanidze found Alexey Miranchuk, who slipped a through ball to Almirón. The Paraguayan rounded the goalkeeper and tapped it into the net, but the flag went up for offside to wipe away the goal.

Moments later, San Diego punished the miss. In the 32nd minute, Hirving Lozano forced a turnover just outside Atlanta’s box and squared it for Anders Dreyer, who finished clinically with his left foot to put the visitors up 1-0.

Atlanta nearly leveled instantly. Two minutes after conceding, Miranchuk turned at the top of the box and lofted a cross to Jamal Thiaré, whose powerful header was denied by San Diego goalkeeper CJ dos Santos. Despite late pressure, the Five Stripes went into halftime trailing.

Atlanta came out of the break on the front foot. In the 47th minute, Almirón slipped a pass to Thiaré at the top of the box, but once again, dos Santos came up big to keep San Diego ahead.

The breakthrough came in the 60th minute. Almirón threaded a ball through to Thiaré, who was tripped by dos Santos in the box to earn a penalty. Almirón stepped up with confidence, slotting the equalizer into the bottom-left corner to make it 1-1.

San Diego threatened late, but Jayden Hibbert was immense between the posts. The 19-year-old keeper denied Lozano with a flying punch in the 79th minute and then dove to push away a curling strike from Dreyer seconds later, preserving the draw.

The final whistle capped an end-to-end battle that featured big saves, close chances, and relentless energy from both sides.

Atlanta United (5-13-12, 27 points) now shifts focus to the road, traveling to face the New England Revolution on Sept. 27, before returning home for its final match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18.