Atlanta United will face Columbus in first round of MLS playoffs

CINCINNATI -- Atlanta United will face Columbus in the first round of the MLS playoffs.

Columbus, which defeated Montreal 2-1 on Saturday, finished as the third seed. Atlanta United, which drew 2-2 at Cincinnati, finished sixth.

The format is best of three. Columbus will host the first and, if necessary, third games. MLS is expected to announce the playoff schedule Sunday afternoon. The match windows are Oct. 29-Nov. 1 and Nov. 5-8 for the first and second games. The Falcons host the Vikings at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Nov. 5.

Atlanta United is 0-1-1 against the Crew this season. It was beaten 6-1 in Ohio earlier this season in a match in which both teams were without several starters because it was played during a FIFA window. The teams drew 1-1 on Oct. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a match the Crew dominated.

ExploreThe AJC's complete coverage on Atlanta United

Atlanta United went 1-5-3 against the top five teams in the Eastern Conference. Columbus went 12-1-4 at home. Atlanta United finished 3-6-8 on the road.

“A good opponent; I think that’s all of them,” manager Gonzalo Pineda said. “You can’t pick and choose who you want. But, I mean, we’re a club that wants to fight for championships. And when you want to fight for trophies, you have to beat pretty much everyone. That’s the path.”

In the first match, Atlanta United will be without Thiago Almada, its best player who scored 11 goals with 19 assists, because he earned two yellow cards against Cincinnati on Saturday.

In other playoff matchups, the Red Bulls will host Charlotte in the one-off wild-card match between the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds. The winner will play Cincinnati, the Supporters’ Shield winner, in the first round. Orlando, the second seed, will play Nashville, the seventh seed, and Philadelphia, the fourth seed, will host New England, the fifth seed.

“I think we are ready for the playoffs,” Atlanta United midfielder Tristan Muyumba said. “I think today we showed we’re a very, very good team. We play against the first team of the league, and away, we played well. And when we played 11 against 11 I think we are the best team on the field tonight. So, the difficult part is for the opponent because playing against Atlanta is not easy. Every team knows to play against Atlanta at home or away is not easy.”

For more content about Atlanta United

Follow me on Twitter @DougRobersonAJC

On Facebook at Atlanta United News Now

On Instagram at DouglasDavidRoberson

Atlanta United coverage on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Southern Fried Soccer podcast can be found

Apple - https://apple.co/3ISD6Ve

Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3L8TN0C

Google podcasts - https://bit.ly/32KlZW3

If you are listening to us for the first time, please follow us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast ... and if you like what you hear, please give us a good rating so we can grow the show. If you have questions about the MLS team, you can email Doug Roberson at droberson@ajc.com, DM him on Twitter @dougrobersonajc or call 404-526-2527.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a special offer for our podcast listeners. If you subscribe today, you can get three months of unlimited digital access for just 99 cents. That’s all of our sports coverage, politics, breaking news, investigations, food and dining, and so much more on AJC.com. Plus, access to our ePaper and our assortment of newsletters. So, join our community by going to subscribe.ajc.com/podcasts that’s subscribe.ajc.com/podcasts so you always know what’s really going on.

Atlanta United’s 2023 MLS schedule

Feb. 25 Atlanta United 2, San Jose Earthquakes 1

March 4 Atlanta United 1, Toronto FC 1

March 11 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte FC 0

March 18 Atlanta United 5, Portland 1

March 25 Columbus 6, Atlanta United 1

April 1 Atlanta United 1, New York Red Bulls 0

April 8 Atlanta United 1, New York City FC 1

April 15 Atlanta United 2, Toronto FC 2

April 23 Atlanta United 2, Chicago 1

April 29 Nashville SC 3, Atlanta United 1

May 6 Inter Miami CF 2, Atlanta United 1