Atlanta United vs Philadelphia Union Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta Saturday, Mar. 14, 3:15 PM Apple TV, FOX MLS Match Preview AJC's United coverage ATLUTD.com Cheesesteak home page Player Availability Injury lists here. Olwethu Makhanya (PHI) is out due to a red card. Team Form ATL (0-0-3) ATL 2-3 RSL SJE 2-0 ATL FCC 2-0 ATL PHI (0-0-3) PHI 0-1 CA (CCC) PHI 0-1 SJE PHI 0-2 CFGNY DCU 1-0 PHI ~ Yes, you're reading that right: Fox is broadcasting nationally a matching between two winless teams that's have combined for 3 goals total! ie: It's remotely possible Philadelphia is worse than Atlanta. Bottom line, someone is walking away Saturday with their first points of the season. Philly is undergoing their own rebuilding, and the biggest names left on their roster are likely Alejandro Bedoya and Jesus Bueno, so make of that what you will. Last year's surprise at striker, Milan Iloski, has seemingly returned to norm, while their leading scorer Tai Baribo is no longer in the clubhouse. Suffice to say, 2026 is shaping up to be a decline in form for the Union. Speaking of declines... The "We can build around Miggy" campaign still has more questions than answers. The good news for the week is that the younger players like Cooper Sanchez don't appear fazed and Mattias Galarza has now had a week to bed in with the team. What that means for the attack remains to be seen, but if he's as impactful as the second half last week that at least offers a flicker of hope. Then, dare I say it, who knows what getting a win might mean for morale. I say we try that for kicks and see how it turns out. Vamos, Five Stripes!
We have a Gregersen sighting! Stian starts for Berrocal, today. Galarza is starting, as well, in lieu of Alzate. Muyumba starts, as does Alexy.
At the game today. We've looked more goal dangerous than the first three matched combined. This makes me want to get Apple TV. The ref is not just horrible at his job, but also a horrible person.
How's that saying go? Ball don't lie. Another goal soon after the break! Haven't seen this in a while.
A win! Forgot what that felt like. Would have liked the clean sheet, but beggars can't be choosers. I like seeing the squad have each other's backs when someone gets knocked down. Felt for a while the squad didn't care for each other, and everyone was on their own when it got dirty. Not anymore.
The kids are on spring break at the grandparents' house, so it was me and the Mrs. yesterday at the Benz. It was nice to be able to just watch the game and not have to manage an elementary schooler. Nice to see Latte Lath back on the score sheet. His runs off the ball are still not great, but in the first half he was dangerous more than once. Really should've had a brace at least. Totally whiffed on a sitter inside the 6-yd box on what turned out to be Jacob's goal, and had another really good opportunity in the first half early. Almiron was really good in the first half, and seemingly ran out of steam in the second. Hard to be critical when the guy had three assists, though. The defense is still largely a shambles. Luckily Philly is terrible. Gregersen definitely needs to be the starter back there. And Hoyos is not good enough for MLS. His distribution is awful, his ability to judge a ball in the air is bad, his soccer IQ is low, he's short, and he's not quick. He's averaging 2 saves a game and has a 50% save percentage. Across 8 games last year, Hibbert had 33 saves and a 70+ save percentage with an equally terrible defense in front of him. Hoyos has, moreover, basically assisted once against himself and has had several passes directly to the opposing team. As a goalkeeper, if you come out to intercept a cross, you'd better get there first. More than once yesterday, he came out late on balls he was never going to get to, then committed to a leap that gave him no chance to even participate in the play. Philly was bad enough that Hoyos wasn't punished on those, but it was high school level goalkeeping play. Our biggest improvement point was the midfield. Galarza looks like a winner. Muyumba made some mistakes, but his work rate was very good. We still need to work on possession in the defensive half of the field, but it was better this weekend than it's been in months. I didn't notice Sanchez much, but maybe that's OK. The subs were all pretty "meh," but the nature of the game had changed so much by then that it's hard to judge. I would have liked to see Saba and Edwards in earlier, just to see what they could provide.
I felt like the goal where Jacob scored the ball was played too close in and he did the right thing to let it go through. Muyumba is an exciting player sometime for our team, sometimes for theirs. I made everyone in our section laugh by yelling 'even your mother doesn't like you' at the ref. He may have heard me because that was when he gave our bench a yellow card. All three DP played well. And Philadelphia may be a bad team but last year we tied the wooden spoon DC United in the last game. So, I think it is definitely improvement. I plan on signing up for Apple TV. Apparently, I can listen to the radio broadcast through the Apple feed. I know our guys are homers (all radio guys should be a little biased) but I am curious how much. I always pictured them as Bob Uecker in Major League.
Usually, you can only listen to the home team's radio broadcast. And if it's a home game, just come to the game instead!
First chance to see the 2026 team (I moved out of Atlanta and then spent some time in Spain). I refuse to buy an Apple subscription since the product hasn't been that good. I will say that was a fun match to watch (Thanks FOX), especially since I wasn't expecting much after a dismal start. Miggy's form looked good, as did the new defender Gregerson. Also nice to see Tata back on the sideline after all the coaching turmoil. Hoping to reconnect with the team I loved so much.
FT: 3-1 Color me pleased! Let's be clear, this was not a comprehensive victory. Philly missed a PK, had one denied by a great Hoyos save (credit where due), and had a couple other opportunities where the Union shot just sucked. Atlanta also lost steam during those last 20 minutes and looked the weaker team in that stretch. So, how much of the result was down to Atlanta good vs Philly bad, we shall discern over time. That being said, Atlanta looked noticeably better. The attack was much more incisive, which I'm sure was in part from the personnel (Galarza and Alexy in the first XI) and the team growing together. Miggy played more thru the middle (IIRC) and was about passes and vertical runs compared to the RSL match, and Mattias and Sanchez did well to traffic the midfield press. The new boy appears a revelation, and possibly the engine needed to put some direction into the attack. Jacobs also looked better in his second match at right back, so definitely an upgrade over Hernandez in that regard. As an overall attack it still looks stunted, because this team as composed is not going to simply outrun defenders. If/ when more players find their shooting boots then maybe I'll feel differently. Cooper Sanchez is looking good, and Matt Edwards got more time, as well, so it's nice to see young players getting into the mix. Jay Fortune was on site but it sounds he's still a few weeks away from seeing significant PT. Tata got into it with the refs (who did not cloak themselves in glory), and personally I found that heartening. I want to know he's still feisty and hungry, so I was pleased he stood up for his players. DC United is up next as part of this run of home games, and it's possible Atlanta should feel capable about this match-up. Hopefully this win gives the lads confidence and pushes them forward.
Did you catch the part where he shook hands with the Union coach after the two yellows for arguing with the refs?