Atlanta United fans will never forget this night.
In front of 68,455 boisterous supporters at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Xande Silva smashed home a 94th-minute winner to give the Five Stripes a stunning 2-1 victory over Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF.
The result forces a Game 3 in their Round One Best-of-3 Series next Saturday (8 pm ET | MLS Season Pass) and keeps the Eastern Conference No. 9 seed's Cinderalla-esque Audi MLS Cup Playoffs run alive.
"It was everything I dreamed that it would be," said interim head coach Rob Valentino, who's been with the club since 2018. "When that crowd gets going, there's nothing like it. I can remember being in here for the first time and watching Miguel [Almirón] and Josef [Martínez] break out in transition and the crowd gets crazy. It's so loud."
"... After we scored the goal and they're walking back to the half line, I was trying to recompose myself and also make sure that we were solid again for another minute, but it felt like I remember it," Valentino continued. "I'm grateful for the people that showed up. It was an unbelievable moment, to be honest."
Finding a way
Despite the euphoric ending, Atlanta had to earn it.
When David Martínez pounced on a mistake from Brad Guzan to score a 40th-minute opener, the Five Stripes seemed set for a long second half. But instead of caving under pressure, they took the match to Inter Miami and got goals from Derrick Williams (58') and Silva (90+4').
It's yet another chapter in Atlanta's drama-filled last few weeks, after entering Decision Day as the Eastern Conference's 12th-place team. A win at Orlando City SC earned them a Wild Card berth, where they dispatched CF Montréal in penalty kicks. Now they've got a do-or-die Game 3 against the Supporters' Shield champions, determining who meets Orlando or Charlotte FC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
"We're in a good run of form," said midfielder Dax McCarty. "We're playing with no fear. We're playing like we have nothing to lose, and I love that. I mean, obviously I wish it would've been a little bit more during the season. But that's in the past and it's a new tournament now. We're confident and we feel like we can go down there and win.”
Miami held in check
Unlike their comprehensive 2-1 victory in Game 1, Inter Miami couldn't put the game to bed. Head coach Tata Martino isn't worrying, though.
"There’s no reason to think in any moment the opponent was superior to us, including last game," Martino said in Spanish. "In the final 15 minutes of the first half [of Game 1], the opponent controlled the ball better. Today, we barely felt it. Maybe in the beginning of the second half, but I’m not too convinced."
While Martino expressed calm, Atlanta have Inter Miami in territory few anticipated. For all their record-breaking success, they're a loss away from what would be arguably the biggest upset in MLS history.
"There’s a lot of hierarchy in this team, with a lot of players who’ve gone through much more difficult situations than this," Martino said. "And we also have a way of playing that we’ve never changed.
" … We would’ve wanted to end it [the series] tonight. We did nothing different based on Game 1, or the artificial turf, or anything. The guys we used performed, they played and I’m very satisfied with what they did, even though we’re very frustrated with the final result."
Everything to play for
The odds aren't in Atlanta's favor. But one unforgettable win later, they're 90 minutes away from eliminating Miami and altering the entire Audi MLS Cup Playoffs landscape.
They have Silva to thank for that.
"When Xande scored, man, I said this earlier, but thankfully for Arthur [Blank], the roof was open," said McCarty. "If it was closed, it would've blown the roof off this place. That's how loud it was. I mean, just incredible."
Somehow, someway, Atlanta have a knack for the spectacular.
"The way it goes down is just wild," Valentino said. "I guess that's our story this year, or maybe every year. I don't know. We make things interesting, don't we?"
