In this summer’s Baby Driver, a stylish action movie set in Atlanta, Ansel Elgort plays a baby-faced protagonist with well-honed skills behind the wheel. It’s not hard to draw a parallel between Baby Driver and Atlanta United’s youthful No. 10, Miguel Almiron.
Like Elgort’s character, Almiron also cuts corners with ease and weaves a path through chaos like few other players can. And when the big stage beckoned – the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium – the Paraguayan playmaker delivered his best game of his MLS career.
With 1214 Audi Player Index points on Sunday, Almiron sliced through the FC Dallas defense with his incisive passing. Looking at his totals, the majority of his damage came through his superior distribution; he completed 46 passes in the opponent’s half, good for 230 Audi Index points. Four successful crosses adds another 180 points. His assist contributes 238 more points.
When you add in Almiron’s three shots on goal (383 points), it all adds up to an authoritative performance in Atlanta’s new home stadium.
To be fair, it hasn’t just been one game. The Five Stripes playmaker has been turning heads all season – he currently sits in fourth place in the Audi Player Index Award rankings with 560 points per game, only behind big names like David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco. And home-field has been great for the 23-year-old – he followed up that 1214-point performance with a 1052-point effort in a 7-0 dismantling of New England.
Atlanta roll into the weekend having scored 10 goals in two consecutive victories. With another home game lineup for Saturday versus Orlando City SC, all eyes will once again be on Almiron as he attempts to drive Atlanta even higher in the Eastern Conference standings (4 pm ET; Univision in US | MLS LIVE in Canada).
