Charlotte FC Stock Up, Stock Down: Biel and Zaha dominate; Kahlina with crucial saves; massive win versus rival
- Sam Vanolinda
- 5 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Sam Vanolinda
Every time Charlotte FC makes the trip down to Atlanta to face their rivals, it feels like a pivotal point of the season.
Saturday night’s game was no different. Charlotte had won two straight after a bad away stretch and needed to continue their momentum to climb back up the table.
The star players stepped up for the Crown in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium when they were needed most. An incredible game from both Pep Biel and Wilfried Zaha propelled Charlotte into a 3-2 win in front of the 2000+ away fans that followed the team South.
This win moved The Crown into 7th place in the East, just three points behind Orlando.
Here’s the stock up/stock down from Charlotte’s big win against Atlanta.
Stock Up:
Wilfried Zaha
Zaha looked like he was back in blue and red on Saturday night. His dominant play was reminiscent of his days in the Premier League.
Not only creating for others, but being a threat on the goalscoring end, Zaha registered a goal and an assist, combining with Pep Biel to carry the game.
Just like Zaha stepped up against Palace’s heated rival Brighton, scoring against them in the Championship Playoff Semi-Final in 2013, the Ivorian has stepped up against Charlotte’s rival this year, with two goals and an assist against The Five Stripes.
Zaha is perfectly capable of taking over games, just as he did with the Eagles for years. He was attacking defenders and making the right decisions, resulting in three shots, a 93% passing accuracy, and two chances created.
His goal came from a great trivella pass from Biel and a good touch into space by Zaha. He then muscled off a defender and finished to the right of Brad Guzan.
The third goal scored by Biel was a good find by Souleyman Doumbia into Zaha, who laid the ball off with the outside of his foot to the Spaniard before he finished into the bottom right with class.
Zaha cemented what I’ve always known. He steps up in big games, and that excites me as the team pushes for the Playoffs.
Pep Biel
Biel is quickly becoming one of the best players in the history of Charlotte FC. His performance this year is unrivaled.
Another two goal contributions to add to the tally, 21 now in 23 games in MLS play this year.
This was Biel’s eighth career game with two goal contributions, surpassing Karol Swiderski for the most in the club's history.
A player's stock hasn't been higher in Charlotte FC history. Biel is the puppetmaster for this offense and came up massive once again, especially with his pinpoint finish into the bottom right corner for the third Charlotte FC goal, which ended up being incredibly important since Atlanta scored a second.
Since Biel being on the stock-up list is a weekly occurrence at this point, I don’t have much more to say about him as a player; if he continues to play this way, he should be an MVP contender.
Kristijan Kahlina
Despite giving up two goals, Kahlina had a great game. After struggling and missing a few games during the rough away stretch, Kahlina was his usual shot-stopping self on Saturday.
Kahlina made some huge saves to keep Charlotte FC in the game. He had 1.23 goals prevented with two diving saves and four saves inside the box.
Kahlina demonstrated his instincts and talents, showcasing why he was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2024.
Hopefully, this performance surges his confidence, and he doesn't have any more shaky games for the rest of the season.
Idan Toklomati
Toklomati's early goal, just seconds into the second half, turned the game around for Charlotte FC. His finish set the tone for the rest of the game.
He continues to step up since replacing Agyemang as the starting striker. He offers a different playstyle than Agyemang, using his quickness to get in behind and constantly putting pressure on the backline.
I added him to the stock down after missing a few chances in the last game, which I felt was harsh, so scoring a goal on Saturday puts him back on the way up.
Kerwin Vargas
Vargas got his much-needed assist after deserving multiple assists in his sub appearance against D.C. United.
The Colombian moved back to the right wing against Atlanta, replacing Abada after his struggles this year.
While his overall game wasn't dominant, his pass to Toklomati was perfect and fueled the comeback.
You have to give credit to Vargas, who switched sides from one week to another and still made a goal contribution.
Stock Down
Both CBs
Both central defenders, Tim Ream and Adilson Malanda, had below-average games against Atlanta. The first goal for the opponents was an unmarked Trisian Muyumba in the middle of the box. While the header was great, a center back should've picked him up.
The second goal was scrappy, with neither center back able to get the ball out before it slipped through to Latte Lath.
I am not saying that either of them was necessarily awful, but they shouldn't have allowed two goals, and if it weren't for Kahlina, there would have been more.