ATLANTA — Atlanta United lost to Chicago Fire Wednesday night 1-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Round of 16 of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
With 41,012 fans, Atlanta broke another all-time attendance record, shattering a seven-year-old record previously held by Seattle Sounders FC. Nemanja Nikolic scored the lone goal of the match, carrying Chicago to the quarterfinals and eliminating Atlanta from the tournament.
“I thought we started off well and then about the middle of the first half Chicago seemed to take a little more control of the game,” Atlanta United head coach Tata Martino said. “In the second half, they created some chances, the goal being one of them, but we responded with a few chances of our own. I thought we had enough that we could’ve tied the game or even gone ahead at that point, but just weren’t able to.”
Chicago broke the scoreless tie in the 54th minute as Nikolic tapped in a cross from Luis Solignac. Bastian Schweinsteiger was also credited with an assist, who played Solignac behind the Atlanta backline before the winger played the ball across the face of goal.
For Atlanta, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu made his first career start in a competitive game. A third round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, the midfielder made one career appearance in MLS action, but made his third career appearance in the U.S. Open Cup.
Atlanta United (10-3-3, 33 points) returns to MLS action at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Portland Timbers on Sunday, June 24 (4:30 p.m., FOX).
