Atlanta United player rating from 2-2 draw against Philadelphia Union

Atlanta United surrendered a 2-0 lead in the second half to walk away with a point in a 2-2 draw against Philadelphia Union. Daniel Rios was handed his first start since his transfer from CD Guadalajara by his gaffer Gonzalo Pineda and he repaid him handsomely with a 55th minute strike to go 1-0 up. Moments later defender Caleb Wiley sent the 42,000 fans in attendance in euphoria as he made it 2-0. Wiley collected a sumptuous pass from Edwin Mosquera and unleashed a left-footed shot from 30 yards out to the bottom left corner of the net as substitute goalkeeper Oliver Semmle stood in amazement and admire the strike.  

 It was Wiley's first goal this 2024 campaign and the sixth of his career. As the clock ticked towards full time coach Pineda kept barking instruction and praising the Five Stripe back four as they were doing enough to keep Philadelphia Union talisman Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza quiet.  However, Mikael Uhre shrugged off his injury and came off the bench to pull one back for the visitors in the 73rd minute. The pendulum immediately swung in the visitors' favor, and they took full advantage of it.  

 Defender Kai Wagner snuck pass, Noan Cobb who was caught in two minds whether to stay with his marker of track Wagner he decided to stay with his marker leaving an unmarked Wagner to pick his spot and drill one past the hapless Brad Guzman to restore parity for the visitors. The 2-2 draw meant Atlanta United remain unbeaten at home and Philadelphia Union remain the only unbeaten team in the league. 

Atlanta United will host FC Cincinnati next Saturday then away to Chicago Fire before back-to-back home games. The Union returns to action on April 27 when they host Real Salt Lake then Seattle Saunders before traveling to DC United. 

Here are the player ratings for the draw: 

GK: Brad Guzan- 6/10: With extraordinarily little to do merely because his defender kept the Philadelphia Union attackers at bay. However, when called upon he made two brilliant saves to keep his team in it. A lapse in concentration and an error led to Brad conceding two goals.  

RB: Brook Lennon- 6/10: A busy afternoon keeping Carranza quiet which he did with a passing grade. Despite his good afternoon he was caught out a few times and had to be rescued by his teammates.  

CB: Noah Cobb- 5/10: Had some decent moments in the backline but was too timid and his lack of awareness led to Philly’s opening goal which exposed his inexperience. 

CB: Luis Abram- 6/10: Have seen him be stronger on the attack, but as involved as possible given the circumstances. Played well alongside Wiley. 

LB: Caleb Wiley-8/10: A solid performance he worked tirelessly up and down the pitch his anticipation and awareness led to his superlative strike for a 1-0 lead. 

DM: Tristan Muyumba - 8/10: Arguably Atlanta's best player on the pitch that did his part to give the Five Stripes a chance. He created 4 big chances and should have gotten on the score sheet if it was not for the goalkeeper heroics. He also completed the most dribbles (4) and made the most tackles (5).  

DM: Bartosz Slisz - 7/10: Worked hard in the midfield but found it difficult to break down Union’s defense to create more than one chance. He had to be better in the middle of the park as a regular starter.  

RW: Saba Lobzhanidze – 7/10: Lobzhanidze a hard worker who created 3 chances and took four shots. A threatening player who was not far away from scoring the winner with a peach of a strike that hit the woodwork late on. 

AM: Thiago Almada - 8/10: Strongest force for Atlanta United. Great at orchestrating and dictating the play while manipulating tight spaces. Almada created the most chances in the match, helping him with his first assist of the season. He was also the most accurate passer of the ball with 92% 

LW: Tyler Wolff – 6/10: For a regular starter much more is expected of him on a consistent basis.  

Striker: Daniel Rios – 7/10: With only his second game and his first start of the season he looks threatening as he deputized for the injured Georgios Giakoumakis and Jamal Thiare. 

Substitutes: 

Edwin Mosquera (For Wolff, '60) - 6/10 - his error led to the Philadelphia Union goal despite creating 3 chances. 
 
Nicolas Firmino (For Rios, 60) - 5/10 Didn't make any impact 

Manager: Gonzalo Pineda – 6/10 Could have managed the game a bit better and the substitutions did not help the team, but he was very vocal on the sideline to spur the team on