On Saturday night, two of the MLS top strikers collided, and it was the Paraguayan star Miguel Almiron that steered Atlanta to an emphatic home win with his first Major League Soccer hat-trick. Almiron fired thrice while Julian Gressel extended the scoreline to 4-0 to walk over the Houston Dynamo.
Elsewhere, FC Dallas unbeaten streak was snapped after ten matches. San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 road win marked FC Dallas first home loss since September 2016. Here's a complete look at the fixtures and how they went down.
Atlanta United 4, Houston Dynamo 1
Miguel Almiron scored twice in the first-half, with the opener coming in the thirtieth minute. Fed by holding midfielder Yamil Asad, the Paraguayan star drove-out wide before powering a shot that past Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis for the encounter's opener.
Almiron and Asad combined thirteen minutes later; however, it was the latter who'll certainly earn much of the credit. Falling inside the penalty box, Miguel Almiron “elevated a laser” into the back of the net, to give United a 2-0 lead just before the break.
The score-line remained still until Julian Gressel added a goal of his own in the seventy-sixth minute. Five minutes later, Miguel Almiron rounded up his hat-trick from the penalty spot-kick following a foul committed by Dynamo defender Adolfo Machado.
Erick Torres got on the scoreboard through a penalty of his effort, but it was somewhat more than a consolation goal for an “overmatched” Houston Dynamo side. The victory is United's first since 30th April and second win in the club's last eight games.
Atlanta returns home to face New York City FC on Sunday, May 28, while Houston Dynamo hits the road to take on in-state rivals FC Dallas on Saturday.
FC Dallas 0, San Jose Earthquakes 1
In the early minutes of the encounter, the San Jose Earthquakes approached the game with an “attacking” mindsets, apparently peculiar to their style of play away from home this season. As a result of that, Quakes skipper Chris Wondolowski had a first time chance in front of goal to notch the opener but saw his shot sail over the woodwork.
Moments after, the visiting Quakes almost came close when Dutch import Danny Hoesen clearly had an open chance in the seventy-fifth minute to fire home the lead but was denied by Dallas goalie Jesse Gonzalez superb effort.
Later in the eighty-first minute, Quakes star player Jahmir Hyka finally got the winner, as he clinically tapped home the ball into the net making it 1-0 before stoppage time.
Arguably, Hyka delivered what could be MLS goal of the week. San Jose Earthquakes returns to home action on Saturday as they play host to LA Galaxy, while FC Dallas hopes to continue their winning ways with a trip to Illinois to face the Chicago Fire.
