Over the past week, many domestic fans have been anticipating the debut of Alexei Miranchuk for Atlanta United. The Russian joined the team on July 30, but only reached the United States a week ago, so his appearance on the field in the upcoming matches remained in doubt. Still, no one canceled the adaptation in the team, and the ex-Atalanta midfielder only managed to conduct a couple of training sessions with his new partners. However, acting head coach Rob Valentino did not delay his first appearance on the field and immediately included him in the application for the away meeting with Los Angeles Galaxy.
As it became known the other day, Miranchuk could well become not the fourth, but the fifth Russian football player in America. According to Andrei Arshavin, after leaving London's Arsenal, he could have gone to the Seattle Sounders and even had an offer in hand, but chose to return to his native Zenit. And he made the right decision, two years later he won RPL gold with him - in the 2014/15 season.
As for the opponent in the first meeting, Miranchuk was not very lucky. After all, Atlanta was opposed not by anyone but the leader of the Western Conference of MLS, which has one of the most expensive squads in the league. According to this indicator, the Galaxy are second only to the superstar Inter Miami with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, while they themselves boast such prominent players as Martin Caceres, Maya Yoshida, Riqui Puig and Marco Reus, who signed from Borussia Dortmund in the summer as a free agent.
In the first hour of the match, Galaxy held a significant advantage and outperformed United in both percentage of possession and expected goals. But with the appearance of the Bumblebees legend on the field, the pressure on Brad Guzan’s goal became colossal, and already in the 67th minute the veteran goalkeeper had to demonstrate his skills in fending off a penalty kick. Reus played with Puig, and defender Derrick Williams blocked the Barcelona graduate's shot with his hand.
True, this did not last long. After all, Royce took up the matter with renewed energy. In the 76th minute, he perfectly understood the situation and set up Puig for a free kick, who shot Guzan from outside the penalty area, and scored himself in the 84th minute. On his first attempt, the German failed to connect with Gabriel Peck's cross, but on his second, he sent the ball right into the far corner. The American goalkeeper was unable to help.
Atlanta had virtually no chance of salvation. At least in the game, it was almost impossible to allow this to happen. Just look at the statistics of expected goals (xG), of which the Galaxy scored four times more (4.03 - 1.01). Only a miracle could bring them back, and Miranchuk almost became the one who created it. In the 87th minute, he received a pass on the edge of the penalty area, put Royce on the lawn with an elegant feint and fired at goal from 19 meters away. But to the disappointment of United fans, the crossbar stood in the way of the ball.
Miranchuk did not rest on this and could have chalked up an assist in stoppage time. But even here he was a little unlucky. The free kick was perfect, but Williams, who found himself without guards, made a mistake here too, shooting extremely inaccurately. A few minutes later, the final whistle sounded, signaling Atlanta's 12th defeat of the season. Nevertheless, Miranchuk should not be discouraged. The Russian came on as a great substitute and immediately demonstrated his skills, and according to the statistical portal FotMob he received a rating of 6.5 - only six players in the visiting team received a higher rating.
