Atlanta United fall 2-0 to LA Galaxy

Back to the same things that were happening before.

Atlanta United fell 2-0 to LA Galaxy on Sunday after a very poor performance reminiscent of its match against Austin FC just weeks prior.

Atlanta, a team notorious for winning the possession and xG battle in games, presented a lackluster midfield and a terribly disjointed offense. Head coach Gonzalo Pineda rolled out the same lineup he used against Orlando, leaving designated players Thiago Almada and Josef Martínez out of the lineup for "tactical reasons."

Los Angeles started with the ball and began pushing for the opener. The Galaxy would find it just seven minutes into the match as poor marking and a bad spill from Rocco Ríos Novo allowed Kevin Cabral to score his first goal of the season and the first ever goal the Galaxy has scored on Atlanta United.

From that moment, it was on the Five Stripes to equalize. They had a few good chances, but a lack of awareness of their teammates' positions and too much individualism eliminated any chance of them finding the leveler.

In the second half, Pineda subbed on both Almada and Martínez and the team saw an immediate improvement going forward. However, it wasn't enough and Dejan Joveljić ended the game by scoring in stoppage and leaving the final score at 2-0.

The loss means Atlanta drops to 12th in the East after Chicago's 3-1 win over Vancouver. Atlanta - by some miracle - is still only four points from a playoff spot with a game in hand, but it is also four points from the bottom.

Atlanta now prepare to face Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on Saturday with Kickoff at 5:00 PM.