Recap: Atlanta United 0, New England Revolution 1

Sydney Hunte

The New England Revolution rode an 18th-minute tally from Gustavo Bou to a 1-0 win over Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday evening.

It was the Revs' first away win over Atlanta, who saw their franchise-worst winless streak extended to eight matches (0-3-5).

Atlanta enjoyed the first chance of the match in the 13th minute as Erick "Cubo" Torres found himself on the other end of a nice ball from Marcelino Moreno, but his chance was stopped easily by Brad Knighton. Knighton was called into action shortly after as he turned aside Moreno's blast from distance.

But New England scored first through Bou in the 18th. Despite slipping inside the scoring area, Adam Buksa recovered in time to feed it to his forward partner, who cleanly beat Alec Kann to make it 1-0.

Atlanta, though, appeared to have leveled it following the kickoff after Amar Sedjic's pass deflected off a Revs player and onto the foot of Machop Chol. But the homegrown player's goal — which would have been his first in MLS — was taken off the board as he was in an offside position.

Both teams enjoyed promising spells of possession as the match took on a frantic pace before slowing down somewhat. But Buksa found himself in space in the 36th minute in a great bid to make it 2-0 before being denied by Kann.

Looking to spark the attack, Atlanta coach Gabriel Heinze opted to insert homegrown player Jackson Conway in place of Torres just before the hour mark. But Knighton was barely tested in the second half as the Revs picked up their first-ever away win in Atlanta and dealt the Five Stripes their first home loss of the season.

Goals

18' - NE - Gustavo Bou | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: What a bizarre week for Atlanta. As they continue to contend with a shorthanded roster due to injuries and players on international duty, the main headline surrounded Josef Martinez, who trained apart from the team this week. It remains to be seen how the impasse between Atlanta's star striker and their coach is resolved. On the field, their struggles continued as they generated very little in the way of offense against Bruce Arena's men. All the better for the Revs, who snapped a three-match winless streak to remain atop the Eastern Conference.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: New England's potent forward corps helped the visitors find the scoreboard for the first and only goal of the night. And it was Bou finding the mark for the sixth time in seven matches as his strong run of form continued.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Bou's team-high seventh goal of the season paced the Revs and was all they needed to pick up three points. But despite not finding the scoresheet himself, Carles Gil deserves a bit of a shout for his work during the evening as his five key passes helped pace a New England attack.