Atlanta United vs. LA Galaxy Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta August 3 - 5:00 PM ET FOX MLSsoccer.com preview here. ATLUTD.com preview here. AJC.com United page here. Nice side note: The fine admins of the board FINALLY gave AUFC their proper icon instead of the generic USA flag! Huzzah! ~ Atlanta started their difficult August with a tough 4-3 loss on the road to league leading LAFC, and while there were positives to take away from that match it doesn’t change the notion that it renders Saturday’s home date vs the Galaxy all the more critical. Atlanta needs all the points it can get with hopes of staying above NYCFC in the playoff standings so as to avoid a trip to the micro-pitch in the Bronx come post-season play. Atlanta also needs wins to restore the team’s confidence and championship swagger. Under normal conditions that might be a tall order against LAG but some kind fate has come to the aid of Atlanta as three Galaxy regulars, including The Zlatan himself, will be out through suspension! The Gals won’t be toothless but they will be a wounded version of their selves. This will make for interesting viewing for Atlanta fans who will see this as a chance to compare the Stripes’ embattled manager Frank de Boer vs the man many assumed/hoped would inherit the Atlanta job after Tata Martino left – One Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Should he finagle win from a weaker lineup on the road in Atlanta the pressure on FdB will only grow worse. The question will be, however, can LAG execute a game plan that produces any attack with a makeshift roster, while knowing Atlanta will be pooking to pick up where they left off in the 2nd half against LAFC and run with verve right at the LA defense for 90 minutes? That last note is a big thing, I feel. Several players comments noted that they came away from the LAFC match feeling they were very capable of getting the draw or the win. They were more angry than disappointed. What better way to embody that notion than by finishing the drill against a lesser opponent at home. Expect the usual suspicions and drama regarding Pity Martinez, but more importantly look for Barco to be a bigger presence and look for Atlanta to put more emphasis on getting as many quality shots as possible. All the talk from players and staff this week, for good and for bad, illustrated the desire of the players to ramp up the offense. This doesn’t require a change in philosophy as it does beg for more vertical passing from the defense and quicker passing overall, and I for one suspect the players as a whole will respond regardless. This Festivus-like airing of grievances reached a lot of ears and with more horses like Barco on the pitch (and Tito back in training) the potential for the up-and-down movement has grown. No LGP for Atlanta and Ambrose is still iffy so expect Parky or Larentowicz to shoulder some defensive loading tomorrow. Boys get anxious but channel their aggression. 3-1, and we can all turn our heads to the USOC semis.
That's a win in and of itself. It'd be nice to be America's Team, but that's probably reserved for Clemson gridiron right about now... Hoping to get a point here and leave healthy enough to reach the USOC final. Vamos!
It's a home game in front of a full stadium. Let's go out and get 3 points against the fighting Zlatans. A win at home will also help to get the foul taste of the last Los Angeles game out of our mouths. Josef, in a bid to prove he's the better goalscorer, gets on the board. Atlanta wins it 3-2. The real question of the weekend: can LGP piss off Zlatan enough to bait him into a red card? OR... can Zlatan piss off LGP enough to bait him into a red card? EDIT: Turns out, both of those guys are already suspended for the game due to yellow card accumulation. LOL.
Villalba to be in the 18 for the day. Good to just see that he's coming along, but I wouldn't risk him today, personally.
Yard work done, dishes too. Time to clean up, put on the striped jersey, and head downtown for an ice cold "Hey Man!" ale and to pickup 3 points. Hup, Atlanta, Hup!
HT: 2-0 Both are own goals, so we're still waiting for a real Atlanta goal. Good news is the play is what you'd expect with so many attacking players on the pitch. Much more aggressive and north-south, so one would assume the players are happy. Defense, meanwhile... Pogba has had some good tackles but he and Meram are not communicating and Florentin is struggling with his marking. To LAG's credit their 1-touch passing has been excellent and they've done well in identifying through runs. They're unlucky to not have one goal, it feels.
FT: 3-0 Headline will be Pity plays a full 90. Offense looked potent even if their only goal was a PK. Miles, Jefff and Pity played excellently, with the former my MOTM.
Woo! Glad to see Martinez continue his goal scoring steak. Pity was MOTM for me... and y’all know... that means something from me, his biggest critic. Happy Barco is back. Pogba has got to be in the XI. Can he play DM?
My Open Cup line up vs Orlando... (I’m guessing Vasquez is out injured) GK Guzan RB Escobar CB LGP CB Pogba LB Bello (he was back in action in USL... if not ready start Parkhurst) M6 Remedi M8 Emo 10 Barco RW Villalba FW Pity LW Meram Bench: Kann, Parkhurst, Larentowicz, Adams, Pereira Rest: Nagbe, Martinez, Robinson, Gressel
I'd start your first three resters v. Orlando and then put out a skeleton crew for this Campeones thing. We need to advance in the USOC waaay more than we need to win one match against a club outside our league. At some point, the law of averages is going to catch up with us and Po'lando City, and they will win. Hoping it isn't Tuesday
Loved the pre-match TIFO, to bad half the crowd can't find their seats before kickoff. I also loved when they posted the keys to the game on the jumbotron... #1 The Ferrari is in the shop. LOL!
Pogba made some solid recoveries but for me that was largely because he was also losing his marks. He and Meram were cought out several times allowing someone to make a through run and you could see Guzan jumping on him a few times in the first half. He clearly has the potential to be better than Shea but if he's intending to get back to Europe (via his contract's escape clause) he'll need to tighten up that defensive focus. Says I, anyway.
Agreed. We need some way to give everyone a 10 minute heads up. Folks are gonna mingle in the concourse throughout the match, we should at least be better than LA at getting people into their seats by kickoff.
Both of the own-goals were forced by solid attacking play from wide positions. Defenders having to track back, facing their own goal, and having to throw a leg out and pray for a good deflection. They lost both gambles. On the second one, Josef was like 95% going to score that anyway. Bingham was in position for it when Meram crossed, but Josef usually puts those away. Pity played very well yesterday, and got the assist on the first own-goal. I don't think anybody played poorly yesterday. Pogba can work on his marking, Guzan needs to get his distribution together, and Pity needs to chill with the "one key pass to unlock the entire defense" when he's in his own defensive third. Otherwise, I thought everybody played a good match. Pity was incisive and sharp, AND HE PLAYED ALL 90! He also straight-up leveled a defender to win a 50-50 header. He lost some balls, but it was almost invariably when he was trying a tricky through pass to a runner. I'm OK with those, especially in the attacking half of the pitch. He's turning low-percentage passes into high-percentage opportunities, and that's what we pay him to do. I think a lot of his uptick in production has to do with his teammates making runs off the ball. Earlier in the season, Pity would turn to look for a runner, and there wouldn't be one. He'd be stuck dribbling or passing to nobody. Now he's got Gressel/Meram tearing down the wing or Josef sneaking in behind to receive that pass into space. Barco also looked very good. He was everywhere. When he finds the back of the net again, we're going to be very dangerous all the time. In Orlando, for a semifinal, I think you play the starters. If you're going to rest some guys, do it on the long flight to the West Coast against a Western Conference team. A loss/draw in Portland isn't the end of the world. And nearly nobody cares about the Champions Cup game, do they?
Big loss by NYC last night. Win next week and Atlanta is within 1 point of controlling their fate in the east.
Fun. Took my mother to see her first United match at the Benz and she loved it. And man, that Owen Gohl is one lethal striker. Love it when he steps up.