Saba Lobjanidze Brace Powers Atlanta United Comeback in 3-1 Win Over CF Montréal

Saba Lobjanidze's first goal of the season took until May. Then he decided one was not enough. The Georgian forward equalized in the 41st minute, put the game away in the 50th, and walked off to a standing ovation at Mercedes-Benz Stadium midway through the second half.

Atlanta United beat CF Montréal 3-1 on Saturday night in front of 34,703, rallying from an early deficit behind Lobjanidze's brace, an Emmanuel Latte Lath strike on the stroke of halftime and two assists from captain Alexey Miranchuk. For a team that spent most of April losing, it was the most complete 90 minutes of its season.

The Wrong Kind of Fast Start

Montréal did not need long to make it awkward. Atlanta's recap said Enea Mihaj gave the ball away deep in his own third in the 6th minute, and Prince Owusu found Matty Longstaff in the middle of the box. Longstaff's right-footed finish went into the bottom left corner, and the 5-Stripes were chasing again.

For the next 20 minutes, Montréal looked like the better side. Iván Jaime had a shot blocked, Dawid Bugaj sent one over off a set piece, and in the 24th minute Wikelman Carmona broke on a counter and smacked the right post from outside the box. Atlanta's own recap counted the visitors ahead 5-1 in shots through the opening 25 minutes. A second goal there and this is a very different column.

Turning Point: Atlanta Solves the Puzzle

Then the momentum flipped. In the 26th minute, Cooper Sanchez slid a through ball to Lobjanidze, whose shot from the right side forced Thomas Gillier into a save. Four minutes later, Latte Lath nodded a ball back across for Matías Galarza, who sent his shot just over. Atlanta's recap credited the turnaround to switches of play that broke Montréal's press, and the shot chart backs it up: the club had Atlanta outshooting Montréal 17-6 from the 25th minute on.

The equalizer arrived in the 41st minute. Miranchuk found Lobjanidze in space between defenders, and Atlanta said he faked a shot to buy space before driving a low right-footer into the bottom left corner. Gillier got a hand to it, per the club, but not enough of one.

The killer blow came in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time. Miranchuk pulled Gillier out of position on the right and squared it for Latte Lath, who finished into the top left corner for a 2-1 lead. Two designated players, one goal, perfect timing.

Saba Time

Montréal came out of the break with intent. Owusu headed a Jaime cross toward the top right corner in the 47th minute, and Lucas Hoyos had to make a real save. Three minutes later, it was over. Sanchez, who Atlanta said won the ball back in a dangerous area, found Lobjanidze, and the Georgian lashed a left-footed finish through the middle of the goal for 3-1.

Lobjanidze was not done hunting. He had two more right-footed shots blocked in the 54th and 57th minutes, and when head coach Tata Martino took him off in the 64th minute, the crowd rose for him. His line: five shots, three on target, two goals. According to Atlanta, those were his first two goals of the 2026 season, his first brace since May 2024, and they bring him to 17 goals for the club in all competitions.

Miranchuk, meanwhile, ran the show from the right. Two assists in the first half extended his streak to three straight matches with a goal or an assist in all competitions, which the club said is the second time he has done that in his Atlanta United career. Sanchez added his third assist of the season, which Atlanta said ties him for the most in MLS this season among players 18 or younger.

Late Drama, and a Red Card

The final half hour was untidy. Montréal emptied part of its bench in the 59th minute, sending on Daniel Ríos, Noah Streit and Victor Loturi, and Fafà Picault came on for Atlanta in the 64th. Atlanta said the cameo was his 250th appearance in regular-season MLS play, but he was gone 12 minutes later, replaced by Luke Brennan because of an injury.

Owusu headed a Bugaj cross just wide from inside the six-yard box in the 77th minute, Miranchuk had a shot saved in the 80th, and Atlanta had three efforts blocked in the 86th minute alone. Hoyos then made late stops on Bugaj and Ríos to protect the margin. In stoppage time, Brayan Vera was shown a red card for violent conduct, after what Atlanta's recap described as a scuffle, and three more yellow cards followed.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Atlanta 18, Montréal 11. Both teams put five on target.
• Blocks: Montréal blocked 10 Atlanta shots, which kept the score from getting uglier.
• Saves: Hoyos made four, Gillier two.
• Offsides: Montréal was flagged eight times, a sign of a front line that kept leaning on the last defender.
• Possession: Atlanta 52.5 percent, Montréal 47.5 percent.

What It Means

Atlanta moves to 3-1-7 with 10 points. More importantly, it has back-to-back MLS wins for the first time this season, following the 2-1 result at Toronto on April 25. Before that, the 5-Stripes had lost four straight, to Columbus, Chicago, Nashville and New England. Next up is the LA Galaxy on May 9, Atlanta's last home match before the break for the World Cup.

Montréal slips to 3-0-7 with 9 points, and the momentum from back-to-back wins over Red Bull New York and New York City FC is gone. The road remains the problem: Montréal's lone away win this season came at Red Bull New York on March 8. The club turns to the TELUS Canadian Championship next, hosting Calgary Blizzard SC on Wednesday, a chance to change the mood before league play resumes.

Closing Take

Montréal probably wished someone had blown the whistle at 1-0. Instead, it became Saba Time, and the visitors spent the second half acting out the title of MC Hammer's most famous single. Atlanta's season is still a hole being dug out of, but a winger finding his feet and a captain stacking assists is how that digging starts.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Match notes from Atlanta United (atlutd.com) and CF Montréal (cfmontreal.com).