Ezequiel Barco scored a first-half brace to help Atlanta United break a 12-match losing skid by defeating the Columbus Crew 3-2 at Lower.com Field on Saturday evening. Atlanta beat the Crew for the third time in a row, winning their first league match away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in over ten months. Marcelino Moreno added a penalty kick goal. During their losing streak, the defending MLS Cup winners have let up 11 goals, with three penalty kicks and two goals overturned by Video Review in this match. In the fifth minute, Atlanta took the lead after a nice buildup that concluded with Barco receiving a backheel pass from George Bello and knocking it past Eloy Room to put Atlanta up 1-0.

Then, in the 34th minute, Moreno was tripped up in the scoring area by Marlon Hairston, prompting referee Allen Chapman to signal to the spot. Barco scored a penalty kick to give the Five Stripes a 2-0 lead in the first half.

Soon after, Columbus equalized when Jonathan Mensah grabbed just enough of Lucas Zelarayan's corner kick to head it past Brad Guzan in the 37th minute to make it 2-1. With another corner-kick header on July 24, the Ghanaian center back gave Columbus a 1-0 win over Atlanta. Luis Diaz thought to have tied the game in the 48th minute when he broke in on goal to make it 2-2, but he was finally called offside. The call on the field was affirmed after a video review, and Atlanta retained their lead.

Moreno was awarded his second penalty of the game with around 25 minutes remaining, and this time the Argentine midfielder took it himself. To give Atlanta a 3-1 lead, he caught Room thinking the wrong way. When Derrick Etienne Jr.'s shot inside the box from Mensah's flicked header beat Guzan, the Crew appeared to have reduced the deficit to 3-2. However, a second Columbus score was disallowed when Video Review determined Etienne was in an offside position.

However, Pedro Santos converted his own penalty kick in the first minute of stoppage time to make it a 3-2 game. The Crew, on the other hand, were unable to find an equalizer, and Atlanta held on for a long-awaited triumph.

[Photography by ICONIC photographer Sean Faska]