Alexey Miranchuk, Tristan Muyumba lead Atlanta United to 2-1 victory over Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — Alexey Miranchuk and Tristan Muyumba scored second-half goals and Atlanta United held on for a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday.

Neither team found the net until Miranchuk scored unassisted off a free kick three minutes into the second half. It was his fifth goal this season after scoring nine times in 42 appearances over his first two seasons with the club.

Muyumba gave Atlanta United a two-goal lead in the 67th minute, scoring for the first time this season — with assists from Fafà Picault and 18-year-old rookie Cooper Sanchez. Muyumba has three goals in 74 career appearances. Picault picked up his first assist of the campaign and Sanchez his second.

Twenty-year-old rookie Emilio Aristizábal scored his first career goal — on a long-distance header — to get Toronto within a goal in the 71st minute. Defender Kobe Franklin collected his first assist this season and his third in 71 career matches, while Alonso Coello notched his career-high third of the season after totaling four through his first 77 appearances.

Lucas Hoyos saved one shot for Atlanta United (2-7-1).

Luka Gavran did not have a save for Toronto (3-3-4).

It was the first road win of the season for Atlanta United, which began the day in last place in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta United lost 2-1 at home to the New England Revolution on Wednesday.

Toronto suffers its first loss at home, falling to 2-1-4. The club was coming off a 3-3 draw with the visiting Philadelphia Union in its midweek match.

Atlanta: Hosts CF Montreal on Saturday..

Toronto: Hosts the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Toronto FC's Benjamín Kuscevic, left, and Atlanta United's Cayman Togashi battle for the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Toronto, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Atlanta United's Alexey Miranchuk, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Toronto FC during the second half of an MLS soccer game in Toronto, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto FC's Lazar Stefanović, left, and Jonathan Osorio, rear, battle for the ball with Atlanta United's Emmanuel Latte Lath (9) during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Toronto, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Atlanta United's Cayman Togashi (30) shoots at goal as Toronto FC's Zane Monlouis (12) defends during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Toronto, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto FC's Raheem Edwards, right, battles for the ball with Atlanta United's Matthew Edwards during the second half of an MLS soccer game in Toronto, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Every day, visitors from around the world make their way to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art — not necessarily for the galleries inside, but for a statue of a fictional boxer from South Philadelphia.

The bronze figure of Rocky Balboa — arms raised in victory, clad in boxing trunks and boots — has become a point of pilgrimage for people around the world.

For decades, the museum kept an uncomfortable distance from this kind of devotion. Now, it is embracing it — and inviting Rocky in.

Opening this weekend, “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” examines how a fictional fighter became a real-world symbol, placing the statue within the sweep of art history and Philadelphia’s identity. The exhibition is the brainchild of guest curator Paul Farber, who spent years exploring the meaning of the statue and public monuments — including through his NPR podcasts — before bringing the conversation into the museum.

The exhibition spans more than 2,000 years of boxing imagery, tracing a thread of human struggle that Louis Marchesano, the museum’s deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, said helps explain Rocky’s enduring pull.

“The common theme that runs throughout 2,000 years of boxing imagery is that people respond to the body under struggle, a conflict in much the same way today as they did 2,500 years ago,” Marchesano said. “It’s not simply about watching two people beat each other up — it’s about endurance, internal fortitude and internal struggle.”

When the bronze statue was left on the steps after filming the “Rocky” movies, the museum fought to have it removed. It was eventually relocated to South Philadelphia before returning to the bottom of the steps in 2006. It was welcomed back, but never fully embraced. The city owns the spot where the statue sits — not the museum.

“The museum has had — and I hate to say this, no pun intended — a rocky relationship with the statue,” Marchesano said.

“It took us decades to come to terms with it,” he added. “But I’m glad that we did.”

According to the Philadelphia Visitor Center, about 4 million people visit the steps each year — rivaling the nearby Liberty Bell in annual foot traffic.

David Muller, a wrestling coach from France who recently brought his students to the steps, said he thinks Balboa’s trials and travails are “good for the next generation.”

“The movie ‘Rocky’ is important for the mind of sport and the mind of life,” Muller said, after running with them up the steps as they raised their hands at the top, smiling and punching the air like boxers.

Kate Tarchalska traveled from Poland with family and made the statue one of their stops.

“He was my hero when I was younger,” she said. “And now I am so glad I could be in the same spot as him.”

Suraj Kumar, visiting his aunt in Philadelphia from St. Louis, made a point to photograph the statue to share with his father, who first introduced him to the films when he was growing up in Bengaluru, India.

“When I got to know this statue is here, I was like, I really have to come down here,” he said.

One gallery places Rocky in the global boxing fever of the 1970s, featuring works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol — all created during a time when boxing had the world’s attention.

“In the 1970s, we knew minute by minute who the heavyweight champion of the world was,” Marchesano said. “The artists in this gallery are responding to that global frenzy. Sylvester Stallone, in ‘Rocky,’ was doing the same — thinking about internal and external struggle.”

Another gallery turns to Philadelphia itself, presenting photographs of the Blue Horizon boxing gym and a section on Joe Frazier, whose real-life story at least partially inspired Rocky.

“Without Joe Frazier, Rocky doesn’t exist,” Marchesano said.

When the exhibition closes in August, the statue inside will move to a permanent home at the top of the museum’s steps — a place it has never officially held. The statue currently outside remains on loan from Stallone.

Rocky’s longtime spot at the bottom of the steps won’t be empty — a statue of Frazier will replace it.

The Rocky statue overlooks the city skyline outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Visitors pose in front of the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

The Rocky statue overlooks the city skyline outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Banners for the "Rising Up: Rocky" exhibition hang outside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)