Atlanta United loses 5th straight at home, fires manager Pineda

Charlotte came into the match with a record of 6- 4- 6 and seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. Atlanta (now 4-4-8 overall), though further down in the standings, brought momentum with them back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. A victory at Inter Miami on Wednesday was the team’s first victory on the road this season. It didn’t matter, as Charlotte managed to win in Atlanta again, this time 3-2 in front of 61,209 fans.& The loss was the team’s fifth consecutive at home. “We are playing good, but when you don’t score the goals in key moments you suffer,” Atlanta United manager Gonzalo Pineda said after the match.& The team announced Pineda’s firing Monday afternoon and held a virtual press conference at 3pm Pineda was 34-34-29 overall as manager. Assistant coach Rob Valentino was announced as the interim manager. Valentino has been with the club since 2018 and once served as interim manager for eight matches in 2021. Something had to give Atlanta went ahead 1-0 in the 35th minute following a strike from Thiago Almada. The shot came off a reflection of a Saba shot/pass and came straight down to Almada, who took it out of the...