D10 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, APRIL 3 , 2022
BY KYLE MELNICKHistory was minutes from be-
ing made at Audi Field on Satur-
day night. D.C. United and Atlan-
ta United, in 12 previous meet-
ings, had never finished in a
draw. But as each team failed to
capitalize on scoring chances,
sharing the points looked inevi-
table.
That was until the 94th min-
ute. Atlanta defender Brooks
Lennon sent a corner kick into
the center of the box, where it
met midfielder Marcelino More-
no’s head, then appeared to skim
multiple D.C. defenders before it
slipped past Bill Hamid’s dive
and found the right corner of the
goal.
D.C. players could only stand
in place with their hands on their
heads. A short while later, a 1-0
loss — D.C.’s third straight defeat
— was sealed.
“It was a very equal game. In
moments, we were the dominant
team, especially at the start of
the first half,” D.C. Coach Hernán
Losada said. “I thought the first
20 or 25 minutes were great,
putting a lot of pressure, causing
a lot of turnovers, creating good
opportunities. But when you
play against a team like Atlanta
with all the qualities they have... you need to be very sharp.”
D.C. (2-3) had its chances,
earning 10 corner kicks. The
club’s struggles to finish its scor-
ing opportunities have endured
since last year, when D.C. failed
to qualify for the MLS playoffs
for a second consecutive season.
In the 87th minute, fans rose
from their seats and cheered as
D.C. forward Griffin Yow set the
ball for a corner kick — hoping
the scenario would result in the
goal D.C. needed to end the
scoreless stalemate. Instead, At-
lanta (3-1-1) held its line, and the
ball was cleared. Soon, the Audi
Field crowd erupted in boos.
Atlanta’s winner appeared to
graze D.C. midfielder Russell Ca-
nouse’s jersey, and Hamid didn’t
seem to see the shot until it was
past him. D.C. also conceded a
goal off a corner kick in its
previous game against Toronto
FC — a 2-1 loss at BMO Field on
March 19 that preceded the in-
ternational break.
“Unfortunately again, a set
piece situation, like in Toronto,
cost us points,” Losada said.
“When you can’t win, you don’t
have to lose. I’m sure they didn’t
expect to win this game, but
okay, it is what it is. The effort
and the energy the team brought
tonight in front of our fans
deserves us to at least not to lose
the game.”
If Losada was hoping the in-
ternational break would spark
his team’s offense, he was disap-
pointed. After winning its open-
ing two games by a combined
score of 4-0, D.C. has scored just
once in the subsequent three
games.
“I felt like we were the better
team tonight,” D.C. defender Ste-
ven Birnbaum said. “And unfor-
tunately, we came out with zero
points. We have to at least stick
one in a game like that at home.
So it’s obviously frustrating. It’s
going to sting for a while.”
D.C. is still figuring out its
lineup and has added pieces
since it last played. On Saturday,
midfielder Chris Durkin, who
played for D.C. in 2018 and 2019,
started in his first game since he
returned to the club March 24.
D.C. reacquired Durkin
through the allocation process.
The 22-year-old was competing
with Belgian club Sint-Truiden,
which acquired him on loan
from D.C. in August 2019 and
purchased him in May 2020 for
an estimated $1.1 million. Dur-
kin, from Hampton, Va., signed a
homegrown contract with D.C. in- He made his MLS regular
season debut in September 2018
and played in 36 matches for D.C.
before returning.
Durkin can help address D.C.’s
lack of depth in the defensive
midfield. D.C. parted ways with
two experienced defensive mid-
fielders, Júnior Moreno and Fe-
lipe Martins, in the offseason.
But D.C. is still awaiting offen-
sive help. Greek forward Taxi-
archis Fountas, whom D.C. ac-
quired last month, is waiting to
acquire his work visa before
making his debut. Midfielder
Edison Flores didn’t start Satur-
day and entered in the 75th min-
ute after helping Peru qualify for
the World Cup playoff. Forward
Michael Estrada, meanwhile,
played after helping Ecuador
qualify for the World Cup.
Atlanta defeated D.C. twice
last season in offensive showcas-
es — eight goals were scored
between the teams. Saturday
didn’t feature those offensive
fireworks, but Atlanta continued
to come through late in games.
In its previous two matches,
Atlanta found a stoppage-time
winner and a stoppage-time
equalizer. It outshot D.C. 14-10 on
Saturday but earned only four
corner kicks. But it made the
most of the last of those, and it
earned three points in the proc-
ess.Stoppage-time goal extends D.C. skid
ATLANTA UNITED 1,
D.C. UNITED 0Austin FC at D.C. United
April 16, 7:30 p.m., NBCSW PlusJOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POSTAfter Atlanta took the lead off a corner kick in the 94th minute, D.C. players could only stand in place with their hands on their heads.
ASSOCIATED PRESSLiverpool completed its 119-day
mission to displace Manchester
City from atop the English Pre-
mier League.
It lasted for only a few hours.
The status quo was ultimately
maintained in what is promising
to be another gripping title fight
between the two giants from
northwest England after they beat
relegation-threatened opponents
Saturday.
Liverpool was first up, beating
third-from-last Watford, 2-0,
thanks to goals by Diogo Jota and
Fabinho to make it 10 straight
league victories.
That meant City dropped out of
first place for the first time since
Dec. 4 — but not for long.
Pep Guardiola’s team kicked off
barely 30 minutes later at next-to-
last Burnley, took the lead after
five minutes on a goal by Kevin De
Bruyne and coasted to a 2-0 win.
Liverpool and City have games
in the Champions League quarter-
finals Tuesday before what could
be a decisive meeting at City’s Eti-
had Stadium five days later....
If third-place Chelsea had any
ambitions of catching the top two,
they were surely extinguished af-
ter it conceded four second-half
goals in a stunning 4-1 home loss
to London rival Brentford....
A 1-1 draw at home against Leic-
ester kept Manchester United in
sixth place....
In the other games, James
Ward-Prowse earned Southamp-
ton a 1-1 draw at Leeds with a free
kick into the top corner, Wolver-
hampton climbed to seventh place
with a 2-1 home win over Aston
Villa, and last-place Norwich end-
ed a run of six straight league
losses with a 0-0 draw at Brighton.
l SPAIN: With Karim Benzema
back from injury, Real Madrid got
back on the road to winning La
Liga after the France striker
scored two penalties in a 2-1 win at
Celta Vigo.
Benzema, who also had another
spot kick saved in Vigo, missed
Madrid’s 4-0 loss to Barcelona be-
fore the two-week international
break as he recovered from a left-
leg injury....
João Félix and substitute Luis
Suárez each scored twice to help
Atlético beat Alavés, 4-1, and
maintain its winning streak.
Atlético’s sixth straight win put
it in third place, level on points
with Sevilla....
In the other games, José Mo-
rales scored twice to lead Le-
vante’s 2-0 win over Villarreal in
Valencia, and Javier Aguirre’s de-
but as Mallorca’s coach ended
with a 1-0 loss at Getafe.
l FRANCE: Martin Terrier be-
came the joint top scorer in Ligue 1
as Rennes salvaged a 1-1 draw at
Nice to move into second place.
Nice broke the deadlock with
Youcef Atal’s outrageous cross
from the outside of the boot that
Andy Delort headed into the bot-
tom corner in the 67th minute.
But Rennes leveled in the 78thwhen Terrier got ahead of Brazil-
ian center back Dante to head
home a free kick from Benjamin
Bourigeaud....
Lille couldn’t find the net in a
0-0 home draw against 10-man
Bordeaux.
l GERMANY: Robert Lewan-
dowski’s teammates picked up the
slack to help Bayern Munich
stretch its Bundesliga lead to nine
points with a 4-1 win in Freiburg.
Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry,
Kingsley Coman and Marcel Sa-
bitzer got the goals as Bayern put
the pressure on second-place Bo-
russia Dortmund, which suffered
a 4-1 loss at home to Leipzig....
Third-place Bayer Leverkusen
defeated Hertha Berlin, 2-1, to
leave the visitors second last on
goal differential from Arminia
Bielefeld, which rallied to draw
with Stuttgart, 1-1....
In the other games, Bochum
won at Hoffenheim, 2-1, and last-
place Greuther Fürth drew at Ein-
tracht Frankfurt, 0-0.
l ITALY: Lazio boosted its bid
for a European spot and put its
derby nightmare behind it after a
comfortable 2-1 win over Sassuolo
in Serie A.
Manuel Lazzari and Sergej
Milinkovi-Savi scored to send
Lazio to fifth....
Spezia celebrated wildly after a
last-gasp goal earned what could
prove to be a crucial 1-0 win over
fellow struggler Venezia....
Bottom club Salernitana lost at
mid-table Torino, 1-0, after An-
drea Belotti converted a penalty.
l MLS: Djordje Mihailovic
scored twice and Joaquín Torres
recorded the go-ahead goal for CF
Montreal in a 4-3 win at Cincinna-
ti FC....
Joe Willis delivered a four-save
shutout and Alex Muyl’s first-half
goal stood up in Nashville SC’s 1-0
win at the Columbus Crew....
Gabriel Slonina made one save
for the host Chicago Fire, the only
shot on goal for either team, in a
0-0 draw against FC Dallas....
Julian Carranza’s goal helped
lead the Philadelphia Union to a
2-0 victory over Charlotte FC in
Chester, Pa....
Matt Polster scored the decisive
own goal as the New York Red
Bulls defeated the New England
Revolution, 1-0, in Foxborough,
Mass....
Ilie Sanchez scored for Los An-
geles FC in a 4-2 road victory over
Orlando City....
Cade Cowell scored the equaliz-
er for the San Jose Earthquakes in
a 2-2 draw with visiting Austin
FC....
Brent Kallman’s own goal led to
a 2-1 win for the Seattle Sounders
over Minnesota United in St. Paul,
Minn.
l NWSL: Alex Morgan scored
just before halftime to give the San
Diego Wave the lead, then scored
again in the second half to put the
home side back in front in a 4-2
home win over Angel City in Chal-
lenge Cup group play....
Mallory Pugh got the Chicago
Red Stars on the board in the first
half and padded the lead late in a
1-0 win over the Houston Dash in
Bridgeview, Ill....
Racing Louisville cruised to a
3-0 win at the Kansas City Current.SOCCER ROUNDUPManchester City falls out
o f first, then retakes lead
MANCHESTER CITY 2,
BURNLEY 0BY SAMANTHA PELLLars Eller’s season has been
inconsistent in more ways than
one. His on-ice productivity has
noticeably faltered, and his line-
mates have changed nearly every
night. He tested positive for the
coronavirus twice, causing him to
miss two long stretches of time at
inopportune moments. The
3 2-year-old Washington Capitals
center is stuck in a rut.
His struggles have been evi-
dent. Eller has recorded only nine
goals and 14 assists this season
and has two goals in his past
24 games. His concerning stretch
was only amplified during a re-
cent practice.
Capitals Coach Peter Lavio-
lette tried moving Eller to wing
while keeping rookie Connor Mc-
Michael in the lineup at center,
signaling a potential late-season
change for the veteran. Eller
seemed to be less than enthusias-
tic, though. He said he’s more
comfortable at center but noted
how players need to be able to
adapt and it’s good to be versatile.
That night, Eller stayed at center
when Washington faced the
Carolina Hurricanes, shifting to
the fourth line after Nic Dowd’s
late scratch.
It appears he will continue to
play center Sunday against the
Minnesota Wild. Eller practiced
on a line with Marcus Johansson
and Conor Sheary on Friday. Mc-
Michael looked to be a healthy
scratch at practice, and Lavio-
lette did not want to comment on
his status until Sunday.
McMichael, Washington’s
first-round draft pick in 2019, has
flashed his potential amid Eller’s
up-and-down season. Injuries in
the lineup have given him more
opportunities to grow his game,
and he has surprised in recent
weeks. McMichael can play cen-
ter or wing, but center is his
natural position.
With McMichael’s surge, the
Capitals’ dilemma is easy to spot.
When healthy, they have five
natural centers at their disposal:
Eller, McMichael, Nicklas Back-
strom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and
Dowd. Of the five, McMichael has
the least experience and would
typically be the easy choice to sit.
But his recent play and Eller’s
subpar season bring some doubt
into the equation.
General Manager Brian Mac-
Lellan called out Eller’s line
ahead of the trade deadline, sug-
gesting it lacked an identity.
“Is it a two-way line? Is it
offensive? Is it defensive?” Mac-
Lellan pondered out loud. “I
think that’s part of the issue that
we’re having.”
Eller’s role and his line have
changed frequently. He often has
skated with young players, in-
cluding McMichael and other
rookies from the American Hock-
ey League.
“It’s been challenging,” Eller
said. “Sometimes maybe you
thought you had a good thing
going and then something chang-es around you.”
Eller has been a consistent
third-line center behind Kuznet-
sov and Backstrom during his
time in Washington. It is a com-
fortable position for him, and he
has been an asset, scoring timely
goals while also being reliable
defensively. He has one year left
on his five-year, $17.5 milliondeal. If the Capitals don’t per-
form in the playoffs or Eller
doesn’t show improvement,
Washington could be at a cross-
roads with him during the offsea-
son.
Eller admitted he was strug-
gling earlier in the season, when
he said he slowed his game down
too much and was almost toopassive and patient on the ice. He
often would make the pass right
away, but his feet would stop
moving and he would lose all
momentum. His play started to
trend upward after he studied
some game film and did some
self-reflection.
When he thought he was final-
ly hitting his stride, he testedpositive for the coronavirus in
mid-November and isolated for
10 days in Anaheim, Calif., before
rejoining the team. But both Eller
and his team struggled with in-
consistent play before he tested
positive again in mid-March. He
isolated in Vancouver for six days
before he was allowed to travel
home.
He has yet to record a point in
the five games since his return.
To try to break out of his rough
stretch, Eller has been putting in
work outside of practice. While
Washington was off for two days
recently, Eller spent time with a
local skating coach to hone his
technique and work on the ba-
sics. He also skated with Joe
Snively, who is coming off wrist
surgery, on Friday morning.
“It comes down to what are you
doing out there,” Eller said. “I
always try to point the finger at
myself, look at myself and see
what I can do to make the people
around me better.”Caps vet Eller is lost i n a slump, just as rookie McMichael is finding his way
DARRYL DYCK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lars Eller, with two goals in his past 24 games, says skating with various wingers has been challenging.C APITALS’ NEXT THREEvs. Minnesota WildToday7NBCSWvs. Tampa Bay LightningWednesday7:30TNTat Pittsburgh PenguinsSaturday3ABCRadio: WJFK (106.7 FM)Did you hear The Post today?Washington Post podcasts go with you everywherewpost.com/podcastsPolitics • History • Culture • MoreS0108 4x1