Ronny Deila looked across the sideline and saw a badge he once wore.
Atlanta United faced Deila's former club, New York City FC, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Saturday night. And it was 5-Stripes' biggest result of the season.
Ronny Deila won against his former team, NYCFC, 4-3 in an absolute barnburner. His adjustments during the match, especially after Atlanta United fell behind 3-1, were nothing short of game-saving.
"The way we played the last half an hour, that's how we want to be and that's where we're aiming for," Deila said. "I'm, again, back to the process in the performance, and I'm very happy that we showed something in the second half."
Not everything went Deila's way. His plan was to start left back Pedro Amador, but he was a late scratch after warm ups, forcing 17-year-old Homegrown Dominik Chong Qui into the starting XI for the first time in his career.
Then, Derrick Williams missed the ball in the 15th minute, allowing New York City to slip in behind and eventually find the first goal of the match. It was a rare mishap from Atlanta's veteran center back.
And even after Alexey Miranchuk equalized late in the first half, Atlanta fell behind again. The 5-Stripes conceded their first penalty of the season, and Alonso Martínez put it away in the 48th minute. Then a Chong Qui error made it 3-1 New York City. Things looked grim for the 5-Stripes by the 51st minute.
So, the gaffer went to his bench and started making changes.
He brought in Matt Edwards and Xande Silva to replace Chong Qui and Mateusz Klich, as he pushed his team forward to try and get something. He put Miguel Almirón at the 10 position and slotted Alexey Miranchuk back in the defensive midfield.
Then, he switched Saba Lobjanizde to the right side. And Saba did almost exactly what he did against Cincinnati, forcing an own goal on a cross in the 62nd minute. 3-2.
Deila's substitute, Silva, provided the cross that assisted Almirón's header to tie it at 3-3 in the 75th minute. Two different attackers that were in different positions because of Deila's changes.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium lit up again, but that was just the beginning of it. If Almirón's equalizer was the "rock concert" Deila described after the home opener, Latte Lath's winner in the 84th minute might've broke the sound barrier.
Atlanta United's manager showed his passion after the result, a release after putting Atlanta United's skid to an end.
The last time Deila managed against a club he had previously coached was Dec. 2023, when he led Club Brugge to a 2-0 win over Standard Liège in the Belgian Pro League, according to Transfermarkt. This one was much, much more dramatic but a win all the same.
