On a night when anything felt possible, Atlanta United found themselves on the wrong end of a chaotic 5-4 loss to Columbus Crew at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
With playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the 5-Stripes showed fight, flair, and flashes of brilliance but ultimately couldn’t overcome a disastrous first half.
Columbus struck with ruthless efficiency, capitalizing on Atlanta’s defensive lapses.
Diego Rossi bagged a first-half hat trick, with goals from Wessam Abou Ali and Andrés Herrera pushing the visitors to a commanding 5-0 lead by the 39th minute.
The stunned home crowd was given a glimmer of hope just before halftime, when Miguel Almirón converted a penalty to notch his 26th goal for the club—tying him for second all-time.
The second half saw a revitalized Atlanta side roar back. Pedro Amador headed home his first goal for the team just moments after the restart, followed quickly by a composed finish from Jamal Thiaré, assisted by Enea Mihaj.
The momentum kept building, and in the 88th minute, Thiaré struck again with a header from Stian Gregersen’s chipped pass, cutting the deficit to just one.
Despite dominating the second half and finishing with a higher expected goals total (3.8 to 1.7), Atlanta couldn’t find the equalizer.
A near-miss from Mihaj in stoppage time sealed their fate and with it, their postseason hopes.
While the comeback fell just short, the fight shown after halftime offered a glimpse of the potential this team still holds.
With two matches remaining, Atlanta will look to finish strong, beginning with a home clash against San Diego FC on Saturday.
– Derrick Ayim
