ATLANTA — Andrew Gutman sent 68,586 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium into a frenzy Saturday afternoon, as he delivered a dramatic goal in second half stoppage time to lift Atlanta United to a 2-1 victory over Seattle Sounders. Gutman, who recently returned from a quad injury and subbed on in the 82nd minute, came on with Edwin Mosquera who made his club debut.
Ronaldo Cisneros put Atlanta ahead in the 23rd minute after a sequence of quick passes. The ball was played out wide to Caleb Wiley on the left side who immediately found the run of Luiz Araújo into the box. The Brazilian allowed the ball to roll to the byline just before sending a low cross to the middle of the box, where it rolled to Cisneros near the penalty spot. The Mexican drilled a low shot on frame which took a deflection off a Sounders defender and trickled into the net.
Rocco Ríos Novo was called into action in the 32nd minute when Alex Roldan sent in a cross from the right side and Jordan Morris delivered a diving header aimed at the near post. The Argentine dove to his left and pushed the shot off the post to preserve the 1-0 lead entering halftime.
Seattle equalized in the 68th minute from Cristian Roldan. Seattle forced a turnover in Atlanta’s end and quickly countered before a cross fell to Roldan in the middle of the box. He found a pocket of space and slotted a right-footed shot past a diving Ríos Novo.
Gutman subbed on in the 82nd minute and wasted little time making an impact. He took a pass from Marcelino Moreno in the middle of the pitch, took one touch, and unleashed a left-footed shot to the far post that left Stefan Frei frozen. Atlanta killed off the final 90 seconds and earned a hard-fought three points.
Atlanta (7-9-7, 28 points) returns to action Saturday, Aug. 13 when it visits FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports South, Sports Radio 92-9 The Game, La Mejor).
