My choice for Atlanta United’s men of the match following Sunday’s game against Dallas at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
LEANDRO GONZALEZ PIREZ
Centerback
Why: He scored the game’s first goal, rolling in a shot in the 14th minute. It was his first goal with Atlanta United and the first at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Pirez had a team-high 81 touches and completed 81.5 percent of his passes.
“It’s a great joy to score the first goal in the stadium,” Pirez said. “Over the course of years and history it will always go down as the first goal, so that’s something I’ll always remember. But the important thing is that it served a purpose and helped us win the game.”
MIGUEL ALMIRON
Attacking midfielder
Why: He notched two assists, increasing this team-leading total to 11. His first came on Pirez’s goal and his second came on Josef Martinez’s goal in the 46th minute. That assist was a pass across the face of the goal that Martinez only had to touch in. Almiron had four shots, three on target and hit the crossbar with another.
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