My ratings for Atlanta United's players from Saturday's 2-1 win against New England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan, 7: Not much he could do on New England's goal. ... Finished with two saves and claimed one cross.
Centerback Jeff Larentowicz, 7: Handled the centerback role well, finishing with a team-high five tackles. ... Read the game well in cutting out a few passes that New England tried to play behind the lines.
Centerback Michael Parkhurst, 7.5: Along with Gonzalez Pirez, they handled Teal Bunbury fairly well. ... Completed more than 94 percent of his passes.
Centerback Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, 7.5: After some unsuccessful forays forward, Gonzalez Pirez earned his second assist on George Bello's opening goal. ... Defensively, fine in the first half, but offensively gave away to the ball too many times. ...
Right wingback Julian Gressel, 8: Scored his fourth goal and gave his team a 2-9 lead in the 52nd minute. ... Created three chances and had two tackles, again showing his ability on offense and defense.
Left wingback George Bello, 8: Making his second start, he got behind the defense in the first minute for a corss, but was caught offside. .... Chased down a New England player and made a solid slide tackle from behind to stop a counter. ... Scored his first goal in the 17th minute. ... Showed his inexperience with a couple of offsides calls against him, and dribbled into tight spaces at least once, but on the whole a great performance.
Defensive midfielder Eric Remedi, 8: Got back to block a shot in the 26th minute. ... Just another solidly quiet performance. ... New England could rarely get anything going up the middle because of Remedi.
Midfielder Darlington Nagbe, 8: Did his thing, consistently either passing or dribbling out of traffic to launch counter-attacks. ....
Midfielder Miguel Almiron, NR: Involved early and often, whipping a cross in the first minute.
Striker Hector Villalba, 7.5: Got free to shoot in the 16th minute with a nice run up a seam. ... Nice pass to Gressel for his goal. It was his ninth assist. ... His speed tormented New England's defense in the second half. ... Hit the post with a shot and missed a couple of more.
Striker Josef Martinez, 7.5: Involved in the offense early with a nice touch pass to Villalba. ... Took on a different role after Almiron's injury, dropping back more to help the offense. ... Had two chances to score in the second half, but couldn't put away either.
SUBS
Ezequiel Barco (on for Almiron, 30th minute), 7.5:
Nice vision and pass to Villalba, whose shot hit the post near the 38th minute. ... Fouled five times by New England.
Franco Escobar (on for Villalba, 67th minute), NR:
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