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Atlanta United hosted D.C. United in the opening match of the Leagues Cup on July 26, 2024. The starting lineup for Atlanta United included Josh Cohen, Ronald Hernández (C), Derrick Williams, Stian Gregersen, Brooks Lennon, Jay Fortune (replaced by Dax McCarty at halftime), Bartosz Slisz, Tristan Muyumba (substituted by Pedro Amador in the 76th minute), Xande Silva (replaced by Jamal Thiaré at halftime), Saba Lobjanidze, and Daniel Ríos (substituted by Nick Firmino in stoppage time).

The substitutes for Atlanta United who did not play were Brad Guzan, Quentin Westberg, Luis Abram, Luke Brennan, Matt Edwards, Efraín Morales, Edwin Mosquera, and Tyler Wolff.

D.C. United's starting XI featured Alex Bono, Lucas Bartlett, Matti Peltola (substituted by Jackson Hopkins in the 70th minute), Aaron Herrera, Chris McVey, David Schnegg (replaced by Jacob Murrell in the 70th minute), Mateusz Klich, Jared Stroud (substituted by Gabriel Pirani in the 87th minute), Dominique Badji (replaced by Pedro Santos in the 56th minute), Christian Dajome and Christian Benteke (C).

Unused substitutes for D.C. United included Garrison Tubbs, Nathan Crockford, Hayden Sargis, Matai Akinmboni and Luis Zamudio.

The scoring began with a goal from Christian Benteke assisted by Dominique Badji in the fourth minute for D.C. United. Atlanta responded with a goal from Daniel Ríos assisted by Brooks Lennon in the 20th minute. Jared Stroud scored twice for D.C. United at the 25th and 32nd minutes respectively. Saba Lobjanidze scored for Atlanta United in the 38th minute followed by a penalty converted by Daniel Ríos in the 81st minute.

In disciplinary actions during the match: Chris McVey received a yellow card at the 55th minute and Pedro Santos was booked at the 86th minute.

Ronald Hernández captained Atlanta United while Josh Cohen started as goalkeeper after making his club debut earlier this year during the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Stian Gregersen had previously been awarded Team of Matchday honors following his performance against Columbus Crew.

Saba Lobjanidze is one goal away from reaching ten goals and assists combined for Atlanta this season; he assisted both of Gregersen’s goals against Columbus Crew alongside co-leading scorer Daniel Ríos who also appeared on Friday’s starting XI.

This match marked Atlanta's first group stage game of this year's Leagues Cup where they aim to secure their first-ever win after failing to advance out of last year's group stage which included Inter Miami CF and Cruz Azul.

Pedro Amador made his debut for Atlanta during this game while interim head coach Rob Valentino had a fully healthy squad available except one player on international duty.

Leagues Cup is an annual tournament featuring all MLS and Liga MX clubs running from July 26 to August 25 this year with matches played under World-Cup style format where ties are decided via penalty shootouts if necessary.

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