Atlanta United fall 3-1 to Columbus Crew, Martino ejected
The fun on 404 Day stops with Atlanta United.
The Columbus Crew beat United 3-1 on Saturday night, sucking the life out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The first half may have gone scoreless, but it did not take long for the Crew to find the net in the second. Columbus forward Wessam Abou Ali notched two goals in the first 10 minutes of the half.
“I think what really hurt us was their first goal, and after that, I think spiritually the level of the team is different,” Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said. “When that happens, it’s not anything spiritual or physical — it’s players’ mentally. They get down, emotionally they get down and are thinking, ‘Things didn’t go (well) last year and aren’t going well at the moment.’ So, that’s something we need to address.”
The Five Stripes got on the board in the 60th minute as Alexey Miranchuk knocked in a blocked attempt off Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte’s fingertips. However, not one minute later, Columbus shocked the home crowd by sneaking in another score.
As the halo board was still celebrating Miranchuk’s goal, the announcer was cut off when Crew defender Max Arfsten scored in transition.
The 34,130 fans in attendance serenaded the field with heavy boos, and Atlanta United couldn’t find any momentum to get back into the game.
While Atlanta lacked intensity on the field, it certainly displayed some fight when a scuffle broke out in second-half stoppage time. Martino was red-carded for his involvement in the ruckus in the 93rd minute.
“There’s a code in football that you don’t talk to the other team’s players,” Martino said. “There was a foul called on (Elías) Báez. A normal foul, it’s a clash, they run into each other. It’s a normal foul, so when the coach starts speaking to my player, and more so in the manner that he did, with a lack of respect, I felt the need to defend my player.”
The beating finally ended after 14 minutes of stoppage time. Eleven minutes had been originally added because of a head injury examination from Columbus.
Arfsten, who just played with the U.S. national team in Atlanta, also assisted on Columbus’ first goal. Miranchuk’s goal marked his fourth this season, a team high.
Columbus came into the match winless, slotted at No. 14 in the Eastern Conference, a far cry from the look of the playoff team that finished seventh last season.
The Crew, now 1-3-2, continues to find its footing under new manager Henrik Rydström. Meanwhile, Atlanta falls to 1-4-1 on the season.
Midfielder Matías Galarza, who started the last two matches, was unavailable because of a visa processing issue. Galarza came to Atlanta in March on loan from River Plate in Argentina. The midfielder had an issue reentering the country after leaving for Europe during the March FIFA window with the Paraguay national team.
Center midfielder Will Reilly started in place of Galarza. It was his first game of 2026 after missing time with a hamstring injury. The Decatur native made 15 appearances in all competitions on a Homegrown Player contract in 2025.
A United spokesperson confirmed Galarza needed to return to Paraguay to complete the work visa process. The team hopes for his return from his home country for its next game on the road April 11 vs. a surging Chicago Fire side.
“We’ve only played six matches so far,” Martino said. “Of course, we know there are teams in the playoff zone and other teams out of the playoff zone. We still have 28 weeks of the season to play. We can’t be focused on who’s there right now. We have to just keep focusing on ourselves.”
