Two days down, three more to go until the big day. To kick start your Christmas spirit, here are three wins over Atlanta United FC that are guaranteed to get you feeling festive!
Atlanta United FC entered MLS as the expansion team to beat in 2017. They hit the ground running and instantly earned respect from the rest of the league for their attacking style of play and massive fan following. This was more than a debut match between the two teams with the Black-and-Red vying to assert themselves as the only authentic “United” in the league. In Atlanta’s opening season, the Black-and-Red surprised MLS fans and pundits by defeating Atlanta in all three fixtures.
3-1 Win at Bobby Dodd Stadium - April 30, 2017
Atlanta just started their inaugural season, were selling out Bobby Dodd Stadium on the regular and had all the reasons in the world to be excited about their future. They were coming off a 4-0 home win against Chicago and United headed down south to upset Atlanta in their first road fixture in Georgia.
Atlanta came out of the gates with intensity that was matched by goalkeeper Bill Hamid who came up big for the Black-and-Red in the opening minutes. Despite multiple saves from Hamid, Kenwyne Jones scored the first goal in the matchup's history in the 9th minute to give ATL a 1-0 lead in front of 46,011 home fans. Their excitement lasted until the 25th minute when Lamar Neagle meandered dangerously down the left flank and whipped in a cross that Atlanta’s Michael Parkhurst fortuitously deflected into his own net for the equalizer. Luciano Acosta scored the game-winner in the 36th minute after a mazing run was capped off with a clever finish into the bottom right corner of the goal. Sébastien Le Toux then added a third for the Black-and-Red in the 55th minute to secure their first win against Atlanta.
2-1 Win at RFK Stadium - June 21, 2017
The Black-and-Red beat Atlanta at Bobby Dodd Stadium, but could they show the same dominance on their home turf? To put it simply, yes they could.
The Five Stripes took their first trip up to the nation’s capital to seek vengeance for a 3-1 loss in front of their home fans earlier in the year. Atlanta thought they were off to the perfect start when 2017 MLS Rookie of the Year Julian Gressel scored a 17th-minute goal at RFK Stadium, but Acosta was the answer for United once again as the Argentine maestro expertly controlled a misplaced pass from Atlanta’s goalkeeper Alec Kann and beat him at his near post. With the game level at 1-1, Patrick Nyarko controlled an Ian Harkes flick and buried the volley into the right corner to give United their second win over Atlanta.
1-0 Win at RFK Stadium - Aug. 23, 2017
In the third and final match against Atlanta in their inaugural season, D.C. had one more opportunity to beat the team who went after their “United” namesake and their black and red colors.
The real Black-and-Red marched out against Atlanta United in the August heat with the expectation of continuing their winning ways. United’s new signing Russell Canouse made his first appearance against Atlanta and his quality in the midfield made the difference for the club. After a scoreless first half, Canouse fired a shot on goal that was kept out by USMNT goalkeeper Brad Guzan, but the ball stayed on the field and Lloyd Sam picked up the rebound and found Canouse at the back post. His header back across the box was met by defender Michael Parkhurst who scored his second own goal of the season against United to give them a 1-0 win and take their record to 3-0-0 against ATL.
