Revolution 1, Atlanta United 3: Revs fall short in Atlanta

The New England Revolution traveled to Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA to take on Atlanta United in high stakes Decision Day match-up. A win could have gotten the Revs the 6th seen in the East, but they ultimately settled for 7th due to a 3-1 loss.

Atlanta got on the board quickly as Julian Gressel flicked the ball to Darlington Nagbe in the 3rd minute. The craft midfielder scored his second goal of the season to put Atlanta up 1-0.

Atlanta came close to increasing their lead soon after, but failed to due to the phenomenal skill of Matt Turner.

The Revs evened it up after a wild series of events in the 8th minute. It started with Andrew Farrell launching the ball over the halfway line to Teal Bunbury, who slipped it to Cristian Penilla. Penilla would break past Atlanta’s defensive line and find the back of the net.

Atlanta regained the lead in the 49^th minute when Josef Martinez outran New England’s backline and score his 29^th goal of the season. This gave Atlanta United a 2-1 lead over the Revs.

Julian Gressel would score an absolute laser in the 57^th minute. It all started when Ezequiel Barco’s corner kick ricocheted off of Josef Martinez. The ball found its way to Gressel, who sent a rocket into the left side of the net, giving Atlanta a 3-1 lead.

As the final whistle sounded, New England walked away with a 3-1 defeat to Atlanta. With the results from Decision Day, the Eastern Conference table was set in stone. This means that the New England Revolution will take on Atlanta in the first round of the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.