Jumping and gliding to his right, Brad Guzan reached back and stuck out a left hand to get just enough of the close-range header to cause it to spin down the end line, around the post and out of bounds.
Guzan made two fists, arched his back and screamed. He then began yelling at teammates, “Come on! Come on!”
It was an incredible save, one of many Guzan made in Atlanta United’s 3-2 in against Inter Miami on Saturday. The win pushed Atlanta United into the next round of the MLS playoffs and Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and the Herons prematurely out.
“My memory is terrible,” Guzan said when asked to rank that among those made in his career. “I don’t remember a lot to be honest. Listen, in that moment, I was happy to get a hand. In that moment, I needed to get probably more than a fingertip to it, and I was able to get a decent enough hand to one from keeping it going in, but then to push it kind of wider the post.”
Atlanta United followed Guzan’s lead. It eventually gave up the tying goal but rallied by scoring the winner to eliminate Inter Miami in the best-of-three series. Atlanta United will play at Orlando on Nov. 24 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Guzan made eight saves and impressed Inter Miami.
“Guzan was spectacular and made the difference,” Miami fullback Jordi Alba said to South Florida journalists.
Guzan was immense in the series.
He made eight saves in the first match to give Atlanta United a chance to rally. It lost 2-1.
Guzan wasn’t tested as frequently in Atlanta United’s 2-1 win in Game 2. He needed to make just one save. He followed that with several difficult saves in Game 3, including the one that rolled down the line, saved by a fingernail.
Guzan went toe-to-toe with Inter Miami’s cast of stars. He and Suarez, ex-Liverpool and ex-Barcelona standout, got into each other’s faces several times during the series. Suarez twice tried to get Guzan thrown out of games in the series. Suarez got into Guzan’s face after Messi’s headed goal in the third game. But it was Guzan who got the final word with victory.
“It’s two competitors on the field, man,” Guzan said. “I tell you guys all the time, right, when we talk at the training ground, and it’s about competing, it’s about believing, it’s about competing. It’s about putting everything you have into it.”
After the match, it was Guzan who led owner Arthur Blank into the locker room to celebrate the series win.
“He’s the leader of this team,” interim manager Rob Valentino said. “He’s a captain of the club for a good reason.”
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