ATLANTA, Ga. — The Philadelphia Union headed into Saturday’s match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium looking to bounce back after a string of close one-goal losses to start the league season and capture their first win of the early MLS campaign.

But after a goal and an assist from Emmanuel Latte Lath and two assists from Miguel Almirón, Atlanta United picked up their first win of the season, leaving Philadelphia still searching for their first victory and answers as they fell 3-1 on the afternoon.

“I saw some positivity, especially when we made a push and made some subs and what have you,” Carnell said of the match. “And there was a bit of fresh energy and and all of a sudden we start creating, and we start playing like us and being us. And then you can see how many balls we turn over then in the final third. I did wish a little bit more of that in the first half.”

Saturday marked the fourth time that Bradley Carnell and company switched up their starting eleven so far this season.

Stas Korzeniowski and Philippe Ndinga received their first MLS starts of the 2026 regular season, despite Ndinga playing 81 minutes in Tuesday’s match against Club América.

Ndinga played 77 minutes on Saturday, contributing one shot on target, completing 70 percent of his passes, and adding five defensive contributions on the afternoon.

The start also marked the first time this season that Carnell paired Korzeniowski and Bruno Damiani together.

“I knew we needed a certain energy up the field,” said Carnell on the pairing. “Stas and Bruno, while we’re still trying to get Ezzy onboarded with our pressing triggers and cues and everything like that.”

“Stas has been in good form, and I think he deserved to start over the last couple of games where he didn’t get in. So yeah, we are just pushing everybody trying to search for that right recipe, the right chemistry, and waiting for it to click.”

Korzeniowski played 57 minutes. While the forward flashed at times throughout the match, only two of his 24 touches came in the box, and he did not register a shot during his time on the pitch.

The match kicked off fast and furious for both sides. Atlanta nearly had an early chance to open the scoring when Olwethu Makanya mistimed a play, sending winger Miguel Almirón on a 3 on 2 break into open space. Philadelphia’s Nathan Harriel was able to close down the attack and clear the danger.

Philadelphia returned the favor moments later on the counter, with Ndinga finding Indiana Vassilev running into space down the left side. Vassilev’s cross found a charging Damiani, whose header missed just wide of the left post.

Almirón’s hot start continued as he found space behind the Philadelphia defense near the edge of the 18 yard box, feeding the ball to an open Emmanuel Latte Lath, whose run put him one on one with Andre Blake.

However, the cross did not find Latte Lath’s feet and rolled out of bounds. The play was eventually ruled offside, but it foreshadowed Tata Martino’s plan to break down Philadelphia’s defense.

Philadelphia created another golden chance when their press forced a turnover that Milan Iloski pounced on. He created enough separation to unleash a strong effort from outside the box, but the shot sailed wide of the far post.

Latte Lath nearly had another opportunity to open the scoring, but Harriel and Blake combined to cut down the angle, sending the ball out for an Atlanta corner.

On the ensuing set piece, VAR checked a potential foul after Frankie Westfield appeared to pull on the jersey of Stian Gregersen. However, after head referee Marcos de Oliveira reviewed the play, the foul was waved off as it appeared the Atlanta center back had gone down too easily.

Atlanta opened the scoring in the 28th minute following a Philadelphia free kick that was cleared by the United defense. Miguel Almirón quickly found Latte Lath on the opposite end of the field, allowing the Ivory Coast international to fire a shot past Blake.

With the goal, Philadelphia had now conceded first in five of their last six matches dating back to the start of the season — something this club was not accustomed to in 2025.

The Union had a chance to claw their way back into the match when Bruno Damiani went down in the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.

Milan Iloski stepped up to take the attempt. However, much like the team’s broader struggles in front of goal, his shot struck the post and bounced out, allowing Atlanta to escape danger and take a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Atlanta maintained their momentum after the break.

Emmanuel Latte Lath assisted on a Thomas Jacobs goal in the 47th minute, finishing from a difficult angle on the right side of the box to beat Blake and extend the home side’s lead to 2-0.

Searching for a spark, Carnell turned to his bench, bringing on Agustín Anello, Alejandro Bedoya, and Ezekiel Alladoh in the 57th minute, replacing Iloski, Vassilev, and Korzeniowski.

Anello and Bedoya provided a brief lift, each creating opportunities for Philadelphia over the next few minutes, but neither chance resulted in a goal.

“I thought when Ale came on, he created a little bit of calmness,” mentioned Carnell. “He created a lot of quality in certain moments. And then we started to, you know, get a little bit of a grasp on what we were trying to do and how we can execute it. And then, you know, I counted three, I think, in the second half, where we had really good opportunities and really good moments, and, you know, unfortunately, just couldn’t execute.”

Atlanta extended their lead to 3-0 in the 68th minute when Almirón played a precise pass through the Union defense to a streaking Aleksey Miranchuk, who finished clinically.

“It’s clear to see right now that we’re not playing tight enough in the net, and we’re not keeping it as compact as we need and as I would like,” said Carnell on the defenses performance. “This is something that we fell short on today and paid the price.”

Jesús Bueno and Japhet Sery Larsen were the next substitutions, replacing Ndinga and Danley. Meanwhile, some observers questioned why midfielder Cavan Sullivan did not feature in the match.

“I just didn’t feel this was the right game to get Cavan in,” said Carnell. “I just didn’t see that, that window of opportunity. We’re always looking to get to get players on the field. We’re always looking to manage things in a certain way we kind of felt.’

“Ndinga couldn’t go 90, so we had to make the change there and get [Sery Larsen] in. And then Danley took a knock to his knee and then Agustín Anello also had a slight issue towards the end of the game, and we’re just assessing that currently right now. We want to make sure that the players all fit and healthy. But some of the subs were actually, you know, forced, I would say tonight.”

Speaking of which, Agustín Anello provided a small bright spot late in the match, scoring in the 87th minute for his first goal as a member of the Philadelphia Union. The play began with a Westfield header, and Anello’s volley found the top of the net, giving Philadelphia their first goal from open play in 2026.

However, the three-goal deficit proved too much to overcome. The final whistle dropped Philadelphia to 0-0-4 in MLS play, the first time in franchise history the club has opened a season with four straight losses.

Another trend to watch: Philadelphia outshot Atlanta 14-11 on the afternoon. While both teams created big chances (Atlanta with six to Philadelphia’s five), United converted more efficiently, missing only three of their opportunities compared to the Union’s four. Once again, Philadelphia was unable to capitalize in key moments.

“These are growing moments,” Carnell mentioned. “We said we’re waiting for a lot of leadership on and off the field. We’re waiting for a lot of this, and I’ve seen guys grow, but now when we get tested, now let’s see we want to make sure that we stand there and face whatever confronting us. Be open to it, be having a growth mindset to exploring what’s wrong. And this is the times when we now get challenged, because now we separate the men from the boys.”

Perhaps schedule congestion, frequent starting eleven rotation, and a roster still building chemistry within a new system are contributing factors. Time will tell.

Philadelphia will now regroup following Saturday’s performance as the squad travels to Mexico City on Wednesday for a 9 p.m. kickoff against Club América. They will then return to Subaru Park next Saturday to face the Chicago Fire at 7:30 p.m.

Should the Union advance in the Concacaf Champions Cup and secure their first home victory of 2026, it could go a long way toward restoring hope for a successful season.

Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union.