Atlanta United stops ‘the rot’ with Leagues Cup victory Wednesday

Atlanta United stopped “the rot,” which is how interim manager Kenny Miller aptly described its 4-1 win against Atlas in the Leagues Cup on Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Getting goals and a lot of “firsts” from players throughout the lineup, Atlanta United stopped its 10-match winless streak with goals from Jamal Thiare, Alexey Miranchuk, Saba Lobjanidze and Cayman Togashi. Atlas’ goal came from a free kick that deflected off Togashi.

Unlike most of Atlanta United’s matches this season, it never felt like calamity was a poor decision away.

The victory was Atlanta United’s fifth in 27 matches and its first in the Leagues Cup in three seasons. The difference between this win and the majority of its poor results this season was its play in the 18-yard boxes, which is something manager Ronny Deila — who missed the match because he was serving a suspension for a red card — has discussed numerous times this season.

“If you take your chances at one box, and defend at the other box pretty well, then you’re going to win some football matches,” Miller said. “That is something we probably haven’t done as well over the course of this season, but I’m absolutely delighted for the boys.”

Among the firsts that led to the win:

• First goals for Lobjanidze, on a free kick, and Togashi, on a header
• First assists for Nyk Sessock, on Togashi’s goal, and his first start; and for Luke Brennan on Miranchuk’s goal.
• First appearances for Cooper Sanchez, Salvatore Mazzaferro and Leo Afonso.

“It felt like a dream, honestly,” Sessock said. “My father flew in this afternoon to be here for the game, and he leaves tomorrow early morning, so I’m glad I made it worth it and I was given the opportunity to play today.”

Miller said they balanced the lineup between using typical starters, such as Bartosz Slisz, Miranchuk and Lobjanidze, and reserves because some players needed time and some needed a rest.

The team has 10 MLS matches remaining and 14 points to make up in the playoff standings, starting at Montreal on Saturday.

With Wednesday’s performance, Miller and Deila know they have a deeper roster that can help overcome what’s ahead.

“All in all, I’m really, really proud of the team because it has been a tough run, it really has, and we probably have felt a little bit sorry for ourselves during the course of it, but we went out there tonight, got the win, stopped the rot, and it is really, really important now that we move during these last 10 MLS matches,” Miller said.