Pep Biel and Wilfried Zaha each scored a goal and assisted on another for visiting Charlotte FC, helping propel the club to a 3-2 victory over Atlanta United on Saturday.
After Zaha’s goal broke a 1-1 tie in the 59th minute, Biel added one of his own in the 77th, as Charlotte (11-11-2, 35 points) won its third consecutive game.
Atlanta (4-11-8, 20 points) has now gone winless in seven straight matches despite scoring two goals in each of the last two outings. Atlanta got goals from Tristan Muyumba and Emmanuel Latte Lath in the loss.
Atlanta outshot Charlotte 20-8, but put only six shots on goal compared to Charlotte’s four.
After trailing by a goal at halftime, Charlotte quickly evened the game in the first minute of the second half, as Idan Toklomati scored his fifth goal of the year after Kerwin Vargas’ assist floated past a pair of Atlanta defenders.
Charlotte took the lead in the 59th minute, as Biel sent ahead a ball that Zaha played and sent past Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan. It was Zaha’s sixth goal of the season, while Biel added to his team lead with his 11th assist of the year.
Zaha then returned the favor in the 77th minute, assisting on Biel’s 10th goal of the season as Charlotte added an insurance goal to take a 3-1 lead.
Atlanta cut the deficit in half in the 86th minute, when Miguel Almiron assisted on Latte Lath’s left-footed goal.
Atlanta found the back of the net first, as Bartosz Slisz sent in a perfect crosser that was headed in by Muyumba in the 19th minute for the first goal of the 28-year-old’s two-year MLS career.
Atlanta had multiple chances at the end of the first half for a potential insurance goal, but Slisz and Almiron each had attempts blocked by defender Adilson Malanda.
–Field Level Media
