ATLANTA — Atlanta United defeated LA Galaxy 2-0 Saturday night at StubHub Center behind a first-half goal from Josef Martinez and a late penalty kick from Miguel Almirón. It was Martinez’s sixth goal of the season, which leads all of MLS. Brad Guzan posted his third shutout of the season, and his second consecutive clean sheet away from home, as Atlanta ran its unbeaten streak to six consecutive matches.
Atlanta opened the scoring for the sixth straight match with Martinez scoring in the 22nd minute. It capped a wild sequence over the course of about three minutes in which Atlanta hit the bar four different times. In the 19th minute, Almirón drew a penalty kick, but Martinez’s ensuing attempt hit the left upright. Soon after, Almirón drilled the crossbar from about 20 yards out, forcing goalkeeper David Bingham to make a save. Seconds later, Julian Gressel hit the crossbar, and on its deflection out, the ball ricocheted off of Daniel Steres and back toward goal, where the ball again hit the left upright before Martinez finally slammed it in.
Almirón would clinch the victory with a stoppage time penalty. After second-half substitute Romario Williams was taken down inside the box, the Paraguayan stepped up and beat Bingham to make it 2-0.
Atlanta United (5-1-1, 16 points) returns to action at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, April 28, against Montreal Impact (1:00 p.m., FOX Sports South).
