Nashville SC 2-2 Atlanta United: Three Things We Learned

Major League Soccer is a top tier of the beautiful game that certainly needs to be garnering a lot more respect than it’s currently receiving and that much is just obvious to us. From high profile players to some really exciting games, we’re struggling to understand why there isn’t more interest in the MLS – especially with the 2026 World Cup in North America being less than five years away now.

Last night we had another entry into the pantheon of “entertaining fixtures” when Nashville and Atlanta battled to a 2-2 draw that, in all truth, exceeded all expectations put in front of it.

Atlanta fight back

Atlanta United were forced to really explore new avenues against Nashville last night and they did so with the kind of efficiency you need to succeed in the MLS. They went 1-0 up, the game flipped on its head, but they stuck to their guns and managed to persevere even in the face of great adversity and a red card. We all know that they’re starting to become an established team at this level but after a tricky start to the season, it was nice to see them push back against the status quo idea that they may be past their best.

MLS entertainment strikes again

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it until we’re blue in the face: people are quite simply sleeping on the idea that the MLS can be exciting and a lot of fun. We understand why because there are so many other options out there across Europe, but that doesn’t take away from what we’re actually seeing. The next five years are going to be really intriguing for the development of the MLS as they continue to try and become a league capable of being featured alongside the “big four”.

Worries for Nashville?

Nashville are probably viewing themselves as big contenders in the playoff race and that’s understandable, given that they’re in 5th place in the Eastern Conference. Still, from not being able to hold onto a lead all the way through to not scoring against ten men, there are problems within this franchise that need to be addressed. They’re still a pretty new team on the scene which is why we understand the trepidation in some of their play, but if they can’t handle fixtures such as this, then perhaps we’re overestimating what they’ll be able to do down the road.