ATLANTA, GEORGIA—Despite an injury-plagued Major League Soccer season, the dream of Atlanta United to reach the playoffs is still very much alive. On August 6, the playoff hope of Atlanta United got a much-needed boost after they beat the visiting Seattle Sounders at home at the Mercedes-Benz stadium 2-1.
The home team relied on the first-half goal of Ronaldo Cisneros and the late game-winning goal from Andrew Gutman to eked out a win against the Sounders, the former team of its head coach Gonzalo Pineda. Playing against the Sounders, the former Concacaf Champions League winner is not easy, but Pineda was able to create the perfect combination to defeat his former team. Cisneros scored his morale-boosting goal in the 23rd minute of the game.
The goal was Cisneros’s seventh goal of the season, which now leads the team. Araújo and Wiley were both credited with the assist, which meant the first career assist for 17-year-old Wiley. As the game was headed to draw in the second half, Gutman found a way to score a late goal to give his team a much-needed win. The goal was Gutman’s first for Atlanta United and his first MLS goal since October 2021.
The game-winner sealed three big points for Atlanta United and the club’s first-ever win over Seattle in the fifth all-time meeting. The three points bring Atlanta one point off the Eastern Conference playoff line heading into Saturday night.
Atlanta United hopes to continue winning ways when they face the dangerous FC Cincinnati on Saturday, August 13, on the road.
