ATLANTA - Ronaldo Cisneros' hat trick led Atlanta United to a 4-1 victory over Chicago on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
His first goal came early in the match during the third minute. After finding a window in the center of the box, he was able to score with wing player Luiz Araújo earning the assist.
He then found his second goal in the 27th minute from close range to the bottom right corner, and the third came in the 36th minute with an assist from Thiago Almada. The final goal for Atlanta came in the 91st minute from Brooks Lennon.
“In training this guy works unbelievably hard,” said teammate Andrew Gutman. “I’m super happy for him and I think you're going to see him score a lot more goals.”
Atlanta showed a dominant presence on offense. By the end of the match it totaled 61% of possession time. They also won 12 of 19 tackles.
Both teams started off the match with early goals, with Chicago tying the match 1-1 from a goal earned by Chinonso Offor in the 10th minute.
Chicago goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina had an impressive 3 saves. However, Chicago could not keep possession on offense (35% at halftime, 39% overall) and seemed to have a defensive mindset throughout the match.
This has been evident throughout their season as well, having only scored seven goals in their 11 matches played.
Atlanta goalkeeper and MLS veteran Bobby Shuttleworth was formerly part of Chicago Fire’s squad. He signed a one-year contract with Atlanta this year with a club option for 2023.
At the end of the 14th minute, Atlanta center-back and captain Miles Robinson was carried off the field from injury. Robinson is a starter for the United States national team, and his injury could affect the team’s performance at the World Cup later this year.
Both of these teams have struggled so far this season, and Atlanta’s main issue centers on frequent injuries of their strongest players.
“Everybody went to see Miles at halftime. They were sad for him obviously,” said Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda. “What we said in the locker room was, the best way to honor him (Miles) and honor all the players with long term injuries is to play up to our standard.”
On top of Robinson, Atlanta recently announced season ending injuries for goalkeeper Brad Guzan, midfielder Ozzie Alonso and goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira. Striker Josef Martínez and forward Machop Chol are also out, but are expected to return before the 2022 season ends.
As for Chicago's performance this season, the team has lost four of its last five matches, with the last of those five being a draw against the LA Galaxy.
Atlanta United is now 4-2-4 with 14 points coming off of a four-game losing streak. Next Sunday, May 15, it will match up against the New England Revolution in Atlanta. New England is currently ranked No. 10 in the eastern conference (3-1-5, 10 points).
The Fire will head back home to Chicago to face Cincinnati FC (4-1-5, 13 points) next Saturday, May 14.
