Stian Gregersen scored twice off corner kicks by Saba Lobjanidze for his first career MLS goals as Atlanta United rallied for a 2-1 win over the visiting Columbus Crew on Saturday.
Atlanta (7-11-7, 28 points) ended an 0-3-1 rut thanks to Gregersen, who scored in the 60th and 77th minutes after Diego Rossi put Columbus ahead in the 36th.
The Crew (12-4-7, 43 points) had a six-match unbeaten streak (5-0-1) come to an end.
Atlanta United took advantage of poor zone marking during left corner kicks by Lobjanidze. Gregersen scored his first goal in his 14th match of the season by sending a powerful header down the middle off the first Lobjanidze service.
It was the second straight match in which the Crew scored first but then gave up the equalizer. They tied Charlotte FC 1-1 on Wednesday after going up 1-0 in the 31st minute.
The go-ahead goal looked nearly identical to the first tally, with another powerful header from Gregersen getting by Columbus goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen.
Columbus used a high press to quickly transition from defense to offense for the first goal, as Sean Zawadzki sent a through ball to Alexandru Irinel Matan on the left wing.
Matan dribbled to the end line and forced Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan to make a left-handed save, but the rebound went directly in front of the goal and past three Atlanta players for an easy tap-in by Rossi. It was Rossi’s ninth goal of the year.
Rossi has five goals and five assists in his past seven regular-season matches.
Atlanta scored in the first minute of its previous match, a 2-2 draw with New York City FC on Wednesday. It didn’t have as good a start this time, but the hosts were still dangerous against the best defense in MLS by frequently running straight to the goal.
In the seventh minute, Atlanta forward Jamal Thiare thought he had drawn a penalty when Hagen came off his line and tripped him, but Thiare was ruled offside.
–Field Level Media
