CF Montreal forward Prince Osei Owusu, left, moves the ball against Atlanta United defender Luis Abram, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer game, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
February 22, 2025 - 7:12 PM
ATLANTA (AP) — Emmanuel Latte Lath scored two goals in his Major League Soccer debut on Saturday night and Edwin Mosquera netted the go-ahead goal in the 85th minute to help Atlanta United beat CF Montreal 3-2 in the season opener for both teams.
Mosquera replaced Saba Lobjanidze in the 83rd minute and scored a couple minutes later to give Atlanta the lead for good. At the left corner of the penalty box, Mosquera split a pair of defenders with rising shot that beat goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
Brad Guzan stopped four shots for Atlanta.
Latte Lath, a 26-year-old Ivory Coast international who was acquired during the off-season for a reported MLS-record US$22 million transfer fee plus add-ons, scored his first goal in the 42nd minute, heading home a corner kick played by Lobjanidze to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead.
Nathan Saliba, a 21-year-old homegrown midfielder, scored his second career goal in the 47th minute to make it 1-1 but, after Sirois mishandled a header played by Atlanta's Miguel Almirón, Latte Lath's putback made it 2-1 in the 63rd.
Prince Owusu, who scored nine goals last season for Toronto FC, pulled Montreal even at 2-2 in the 71st. George Campbell, off a corner kick to the back post by Tom Pearce, played a centring header to Owusu for the tap-in goal from point-blank range.
Sirois finished with five saves for Montreal.
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