Leagues Cup: Charlotte FC Best Atlas 2-0, Sit Atop MLS Table
Smalls makes history, Westwood speaks from the heart, and a red card row caps a 2-0 win for the Crown.
After the second match of group stage play last year, Charlotte FC were mathematically eliminated from the Leagues Cup.
Just one year later, they’re atop the table — in no small part thanks to English international Tyger Smalls, who now has three goals and four goal contributions in his last three Leagues Cup matches, and super substitute Liel Abada, who scored the decisive first goal off of Smalls’ assist last night and returned the favor with an assist
The pair of second-half goals from the Jokers — in German, a substitute who makes a big impact off the bench — sent Atlas home with a 2-0 loss Friday night, a result that officially eliminated the Liga MX side from the knockout phase and pushed Charlotte to the doorstep of the quarterfinals.
Charlotte FC are undefeated in the first two of three group stage matches, and the team — which so far has leaned on rotation players — is beginning to feel like a genuine threat. However, a post-match predicament led to a red card for Charlotte designated player Pep Biel, taking him out of Tuesday’s final, decisive group stage match against C.F. Pachuca.
Leagues Cup
Group Stage Match 2
August 7, 2026
Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, NC
Charlotte FC 2 - 0 Atlas F.C.
Charlotte FC Goals
Liel Abada - 78’ (Assist: Smalls)
Tyger Smalls - 90’+5’ (Assist: Abada)
Charlotte FC Red Card
Pep Biel - Post Match
A Tight Fixture Until the Jokers Went Wild
Atlas were a fitting matchup since, for most of the first half, Charlotte looked like they needed a map just to find the back of the net.
Atlas led the attack early, forcing a save from Charlotte goalkeeper Tyler Miller in the 7th minute. In the 15th minute, the visitors thought they’d broken through first with José Martín curling home a left-footed finish, but a VAR check reversed the goal, finding Atlas forward Ryan Mmaee in an offside position before receiving the ball that enabled him to make the assist.
Miller made sure it stayed level, coming up with a one-handed stop right at the end of first-half stoppage time to deny the visitors a legitimate lead heading into the break.
The second half settled into the kind of grinding, low-event soccer that had everyone half-bracing for this thing to go all the way to penalties before it was through — Atlas goalkeeper and Colombia international Camilo Vargas was excellent, and the visitors packed things in defensively, giving Charlotte almost nothing easy through the run of play.
Vargas’ adroit play prevented two Charlotte goals early in the second half; first, in the 68th minute, he diffused a Liel Abada breakaway created by Pep Biel by running out and attacking the Charlotte striker high in the box, making himself big and making the save.
Then, during a Charlotte set piece, Luca de la Torre dribbled through multiple Atlas defenders and found Andrew Privett at point blank range in front of goal. Privett sent a powerful ball at Atlas’ goal from 6 yards away, but Vargas blocked the shot and kept things level.
Charlotte’s breakthrough finally arrived in the 77th minute when Smalls threaded a pass through to Abada, who finished coolly to make it 1-0.
In a post-match interview with Soccer Sheet’s Jorge Torres, Atlas head coach Hernán Crespo called the play an “unforced error” that “changed the energy of the game.”
“The opponent must be respected,” Crespo said, speaking in Spanish. “[Charlotte’s goal came during] a moment of development in the game when we were being very dangerous.”
Then, while Atlas transitioned back to defense after calling Vargas out of the net for a last-ditch stoppage time set piece, Abada returned the favor, passing the ball to Smalls who closed the book on the match with an easy, open net goal.
With the win, Charlotte moved from second to first in the MLS table with 6 points and a goal differential of 5. The top four teams from each league will advance to the quarterfinals, to be played during the final week of August.
Smalls Builds a Case
Speaking of Smalls — it’s worth shining a light on what he’s accomplished this tournament: two appearances off the bench, three goal contributions, three goals in a row in Leagues Cup play (going back to Charlotte’s consolation win over Monterrey last year), and now the record-holder as Charlotte’s all-time top scorer in the tournament.
“I think after the last two years it’s been good to now get two wins,” said Smalls. “We still got a lot of a job to do on Tuesday night … and we’re going into that with confidence.”
Westwood: “All-in” for the Club that’s Become Home
Captain Ashley Westwood picked up a second-half yellow card grinding through the match, and afterward he made it clear exactly what this club means to him.
He said he’s willing to push his body to its limits and give everything he has for a club that’s welcomed him and his family and become their home over these past few years — the kind of statement that lands differently coming from someone who’s clearly all in.
“[Dean] said it, we wanna go and do well in [Leagues Cup],” said Westwood. “He was disappointed the last couple of seasons, we haven’t started very well. I thought, the other night, we were outstanding. Tonight we’ve shown a different performance … that we can fight.”
A Red Card, a Language Barrier, and a Coach who Wants Answers
The story that will linger is what happened after the final whistle.
Pep Biel was shown a red card once the match had already ended, and Dean Smith didn’t hide his frustration about it postgame. Smith said he went looking for an explanation from the referee about why the card was issued, and was told it had to do with something Pep said.
When Smith pressed for specifics on what exactly was said, the explanation came back in Spanish — and, according to Smith, the referee wouldn’t translate it into English for him.
Westwood didn’t mince words either, calling the red card nothing short of a terrible officiating decision to end the night on.
By the Numbers
Final: Charlotte FC 2, Atlas 0
Scorers: Liel Abada (78’, assist Tyger Smalls), Tyger Smalls (90’+)
Charlotte FC Player of the Match: Liel Abada.
Yellow Cards (Charlotte): Morrison Agyemang, Ashley Westwood, Rodolfo Aloko
Red Card (Charlotte): Pep Biel, after the final whistle
Charlotte improve to 2-0 in Phase One group play and sits one result away from a perfect group stage.
The win stretched Charlotte’s home unbeaten run to five straight
Atlas are eliminated from knockout contention, having scored just one goal while conceding five across its two matches.
Looking Ahead
Charlotte closes out group play Aug. 11 against Pachuca, with a chance to finish Phase One unbeaten and lock in a statement start to this Leagues Cup run.
Sam Spencer contributed to this piece.
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