NYCFC win late with fewer chances than Atlanta United

New York City FC beat Atlanta United 2-1 at Citi Field after the visitors created far more danger, and the winner came in the 90th minute.

Atlanta United created the better chances at Citi Field and still came away with nothing. Their expected goals figure, a rough measure of how likely a set of shots was to go in based on where they were taken from and how they were struck, came to 2.07. That is well above the 1.31 they average on the road. New York City FC won anyway, and the winner came in the 90th minute from Bénie Adama Traoré, who had been on the pitch for barely a minute.

The scoring was slow to arrive. Breel Embolo had a goal in the 23rd minute disallowed after a video review, so the game stayed goalless for the time being. Nicolás Fernández Mercau broke the deadlock for New York City in the 70th minute, and Embolo levelled for Atlanta in the 88th. Both sides had their moments before that, but the finishing decided the order in which the goals came.

New York City had only 46% of the ball, below the 53% they usually hold at home, yet they still produced 11 shots, close to their usual 10.5. Their expected goals of 1.2 sat almost exactly on their own home average of 1.18. By their own standards, the home side was ordinary in what it created, and the gap in the final score came from how the chances were taken rather than how many there were.

Atlanta had 54% of the ball, up on the 50.6% they average away, and they took 19 shots. That is far above the 13 they usually manage on the road and the league's average of 13.4 per team. Twelve of those efforts came from inside the penalty box, against seven for New York City. Freese made five saves for the hosts, while Atlanta's goalkeeper made four.

Neither side had a player sent off, but Atlanta picked up four yellow cards to New York City's two. Fouls were level at 13 apiece, so the discipline did not separate the teams. What separated them was the late swing, with Atlanta's momentum handed back in the closing minutes.

For New York City this was their first win in six. That run had brought two draws and four defeats, and the last of those defeats came at home. A side that had been losing at home, in other words, found a way to win in the last minute of normal time.

Atlanta's form on the road over the same six matches reads two wins, three defeats and a draw. They have now dropped points in a match where they had the better of the chances, which is the sort of result that stays with a squad for longer than the scoreline suggests.

Player of the matchN. Fernández Mercau1 goal8.2

B. Embolo1 goal8.1

B. Traoré1 goal7.7

K. O'Toole1 assist7.1