Atlanta United fell 2-0 on the road to LA Galaxy as Bundesliga legend Marco Reus grabbed a goal and an assist to propel his team to victory at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Leading up to the late-night showdown, both sides were looking forward to giving two new signings their debuts. The Galaxy were eager to introduce Borussia Dortmund legend Marco Reus to the mix while Atlanta were hopeful of an impact from Alexey Miranchuk.
Neither team were able to break the deadlock through 45 minutes played in Southern California. The visitors nearly went in front before Xande Silva's strike went straight into John McCarthy's arms while the hosts had a chance saved from close range after Brad Guzan's kick-save.
However, the Galaxy were given a golden opportunity to go in front as the team was awarded a penalty kick after Atlanta's Derrick Williams was called for a handball in his own penalty area. Joseph Paintsil stepped up to take the penalty and 39-year-old Brad Guzan guessed correctly to save the attempt and keep the score knotted at 0-0.
Later on in the match at the 60th minute mark, both Miranchuk and Reus were substituted into the match that was still at a deadlock. Roughly 15 minutes later, Reus logged his first goal contribution as a Galaxy player by claiming the assist for the opener. The 35-year-old teed up Riqui Puig as the former Barcelona midfielder curled one in from range to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Reus then would go on to add his first goal as a Galaxy player after LA carved open the Atlanta backline. Gabriel Pec sent in a low cross into Reus' path, and the former Germany international's effort was saved at first before he hammered home the rebound with ease to double the Galaxy's advantage.
The win brought the Galaxy within four points of Inter Miami in the Supporters' Shield race as they picked up their 15th win of the MLS season. On the other hand, Atlanta remained in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and 20th place overall after suffering their 12th defeat of the campaign.
GK: Brad Guzan - 8/10 - Came up with a good kick-save in the first half but his handling was unconvincing. Pulled off an impressive save to deny Paintsil from the spot.
RB: Brooks Lennon - 6/10 - Wasn't the best of showings from Lennon. The USA international didn't see much time on the ball going forward and left too much space in behind when he did push forward.
CB: Stian Gregersen - 5/10 - Struggled to contain Joseph Paintsil for most of the match. The Norway international will hope to put in a better performance in the next match against Charlotte FC.
CB: Derrick Williams - 5/10 - The ex-DC United defender stepped up to make several key blocks in interceptions in the first 45. However, he faded as the match wore on and was partly at fault for both of the Galaxy's goals.
LB: Pedro Amador - 5/10 - One of Atlanta's newest recruits was linking up well with his teammates down the left-hand side. However, he left a lot to be desired on the defensive end and collided with Williams late on which led to Puig's strike.
CM: Jay Fortune - 7/10 - Fortune took on the No. 10 role in the first half when Atlanta were in possession, pulling the strings and playing Silva through on goal early on.
CM: Bartosz Slisz - 6/10 - The Poland international was rather inconsistent in the first half with a few heavy touches that resulted in turnovers. However, he did help protect at the backline at times by stepping in to break up a few passes.
CM: Dax McCarty - 6/10 - The 37-year-old was solid on the ball but was exposed when the team was out of possession. Riqui Puig glided by both McCarty and Slisz with ease on numerous occasions.
RW: Saba Lobjanidze - 6/10 - While Lobjanidze was one of Atlanta's best players during Leagues Cup, he struggled to carry over his form from the competition into the late-night match with poor decision making in the final third.
ST: Jamal Thiare - 6/10 - Thiare struggled to get into much of a rhythm but didn't receive much service in fairness.
LW: Xande Silva - 6/10 - Silva could've put Atlanta in front early on but failed to do so with a shot straight at McCarthy. Did well to carry the ball up the pitch but his final ball was lacking.
Substitutes
SUB: Alexey Miranchuk (61' for McCarthy) - 6/10 - Atlanta's newest Designated Player didn't really get much time on the ball to show what he can do on his debut.
SUB: Edwin Mosquera (72' for Silva) - 5/10 - Mosquera was all over the place after coming on. He at least tried to make something happen but it was to no avail.
SUB: Daniel Rios (72' for Thiare) - 6/10 - Like Thiare, Rios also found service hard to come by up front and center.
SUB: Tyler Wolff (81' for Lobjanidze) - N/A
Manager
Rob Valentino - 6/10 - Atlanta were impressive through the opening 30 minutes of the match before the team started to fall of before halftime. Valentino set the team up well to at least get a point from the match, but he was unable to pivot after the Galaxy started to get into a rhythm with their attacking stars -- which has happened to many MLS teams in 2024.
