Philadelphia Union falls in 2-0 loss to Atlanta United

The Philadelphia Union fell to Atlanta United on Sunday, as the Five Stripes took a 2-0 win in Georgia. Goals from Thiago Almada and Brooks Lennon led Atlanta to the win as Philadelphia struggled offensively throughout the match.

With Kai Wagner absent, Jim Curtin rolled out a varied squad against Atlanta Sunday. Curtin put a 5-2-1-2 on the pitch, with Alejandro Bedoya playing in a defensive midfield position and Leon Flach as a left wingback. With Andre Blake on international duty, Joe Bendik started in goal.

Atlanta struck first with a fiery shot from Almada. The Argentine MVP candidate sent an early free kick into Jose Martinez, but his follow-up roared past Bendik in the 9th minute. Almada’s free kick was called a penalty kick by Ted Unkel but was moved outside the box after a video review.

THIAGO. ALMADA. 🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/tI7CyT11ER

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 2, 2023

Atlanta suffered a blow to its lineup when Giorgos Giakoumakis exited the match in the 30th minute with an injury. The forward was challenging the Union backline before he was replaced by Miguel Berry.

The Union dodged a few bullets in the first half, as shots from Giakoumakis and Almada challenged the Philadelphia backline, but flew right toward Bendik. While the Five Stripes struggled to create perfect opportunities, they dominated control of the match throughout the first half.

However, Philadelphia looked stronger in the second half. Martinez began to control Almada more on defense, while the Union’s attack punched crosses into the box that caused some serious challenge to the Atlanta backline. Still, Philadelphia struggled to seriously challenge Brad Guzan in net.

Despite Philadelphia’s progress, Lennon sealed the deal for Atlanta in the 79th minute. After Martinez left the match, the Argentine laid a pass off to Lennon standing near the goal. The Atlanta right-back placed his shot through Bendik’s legs to complete the win.

The Union’s loss was their second in their last four matches after they dropped points on the road against San Jose on June 10.

While the Union did not look up to standard on Sunday, Martinez looked strong. Martinez even picked the pocket of the World Cup winner several times while he was assigned to cover Almada, and the Union took a noticeable step back once he left the match.

The Union will return to action at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 8 as they head out West to take on the LA Galaxy. The match will be streamed for free on Apple TV.