Brooks Lennon spoke it into existence.
"I think [it’s] going to be great for me," he said after training Wednesday. "I'm just itching to get back and be able to put some dangerous crosses into the box and hopefully get some assists.”
Who else could've whipped in the cross that found Emmanuel Latte Lath for the first goal? Lennon planned it perfectly, from the run to the touch to the pass. And what an assist it was, his 39th for the club, tying him for the most in Atlanta United history.
For the very first time this season, Atlanta United sent out a backline of its four best. Everything looked right until substitute Fafá Picault's dribbling header snuck past multiple Atlanta players to win the game for Inter Miami 89 minutes into the match.
Lennon, the marathoner of a right back, made his return from a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for the first three games of the regular season. He started opposite of Pedro Amador, the crafty left back who has now two starts under his belt since returning from his hamstring injury.
The 5-Stripes defense got healthy right in time, but Inter Miami's star-studded attack did its best to steal a result. Lionel Messi stole the ball off of Bartosz Slisz and chipped in a goal in the 20th minute to equalize.
Lennon made more history Sunday, earning his 200th career MLS regular season start. The moment for him, returning to the pitch after an unfamiliar absence, meant everything. He would've done the exact same thing again not too long after his first assist, but Latte Lath was caught just a hair offsides.
Amador showed no hesitation roving forward either. He made runs through the half spaces when defenders drew out wide, and he himself made wide runs as well. His teammates found him often, as he and Lennon hung out further up the pitch than the fullbacks have ever before this season.
The center back pairing, Derrick Williams and Stian Gregersen, made their third consecutive start together this season, and that continuity showed. It's never simple dealing with Miami's myriad of attacking options. The two were disciplined holding their line and pushed the ball to the outside to make finishing angles much more difficult. The game-sealing goal felt harsh after the effort they put in leading up to it.
On top of that, when all else failed, last year's playoff hero and captain Brad Guzan stood on his bald head today against Miami once again. He made six saves, using nearly all of his limbs to do so. His tape on the night included a ridiculous layout to deny Messi a goal in the first half, a one-handed stop to deny him once again in the second half and a kick save to make it a hattrick of saves on the Argentinian.
Guzan is not new to this. He tallied 18 saves against Inter Miami in last year's playoff series, and he continued that ridiculous form against one of MLS' most dynamic attacks.
Lennon's history and Guzan's acrobatics just weren't enough to secure a result. The pieces, as they discussed this past week in training, are coming together, though. The second-half dip didn't feel as pronounced Sunday night — Atlanta's energy carried through to the final whistle. The next step is taking that and translating it to results. It's easier said than done but something Atlanta United is more than capable of doing this season.
