ATL Standard

After a couple of weeks on the road, Atlanta United returned to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face New York City FC. Seven of the 16 matches these two clubs have played against each other have ended in a draw, and this one followed suit. In April, the 5-Stripes went up to Citi Field and secured a 1-1 draw. This time it was NYCFC that came from behind for the 2-2 draw.

"We were under some pressure and we tried to make adjustments at halftime about being better and just more brave," said interim head coach Rob Valentino at the post-match conference. "There were individual errors. So, it is about eliminating those moments."

Atlanta United got off to a great start thanks to Daniel Ríos, who has been on a hot scoring streak lately. Tristan Muyumba moved the ball downfield to Saba Lobjanidze, who quickly passed it to Ríos in the penalty spot. The goal was scored only 21 seconds in, marking the fastest goal in club history. Lobjanidze earned an assist on the play.

Ríos now has six goals this season after previously being tied with Saba Lobjanidze and Jamal Thiaré with five.

New York City FC spent several minutes trying to regain their rhythm after conceding early. In the 12th minute, Keaton Parks tripped Derrick Williams in the penalty area, leading to an awarded penalty kick. However, VAR concluded that it would not be a penalty kick due to an offside position.

The next promising scoring opportunity for Atlanta came in the 18th minute by Xande Silva as they continued exploiting NYCFC’s right side.

Brad Guzan made a diving save in the 27th minute on Agustín Ojeda's shot to keep Atlanta ahead by one goal. Ronald Hernández blocked Ojeda's rebound attempt.

In the 38th minute, Atlanta doubled their lead with a goal from Lobjanidze after Matt Freese saved Silva’s close-range effort. Lobjanidze now matches Ríos with six goals this year.

Silva nearly scored himself in the 43rd minute but hit the right goal post after Freese deflected his shot slightly.

Atlanta ended the first half with five shots total, two finding the back of the net—the first time this season they scored twice in one half.

"We were braver, more direct and playing there. The goal came right away," said Valentino about improving after their match against Montreal where they did not record any shots on net. "The big thing is that we have to find out why we dropped off."

The second half began similarly for Atlanta as they continued pushing offensively. Muyumba had good chances early but missed narrowly both times.

NYCFC cut Atlanta's lead following a giveaway when Monsef Bakrar scored past Guzan in the 65th minute of play. Soon after, Atlanta substituted Jamal Thiaré for Ríos while Luke Brennan replaced Lobjanidze and Jay Fortune subbed in for Muyumba later on.

NYCFC equalized after Brooks Lennon conceded a penalty in the 82nd minute which Talles Magno converted—Magno had only played six minutes for NYCFC before this game.

Freese made another crucial stop just on his goal line preventing Thiaré from regaining Atlanta's lead late into extra time when Silva’s shot was also saved by Freese ending game tied at two apiece despite strong first-half performance from hosts

Atlanta will return home Saturday facing Columbus Crew; fans can catch all action including kickoff via MLS Season Pass Apple TV starting at seven-thirty pm