Atlanta United traveled to Columbus to face the league’s best defensive team AND RAN THEM OUT THE DANG BUILDING. Well. Kind of. Goals from Josef Martinez and Tito Villalba pushed the Five Stripes to a hard-nosed 2-0 road win against the third-place team in the Eastern Conference. It took 30 minutes for either team to put a shot on target. Fortunately, Josef made it count. Josef scores off a direct corner kick? JOSEF SCORED OFF A DIRECT CORNER KICK. pic.twitter.com/Xd2uXeyrC7 — Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) June 14, 2018 Columbus created more opportunities throughout the half but could only place one shot on frame. Atlanta entered the locker room up one. The second half continued in the same way. Things were happening but things weren’t actually happening. After a plethora of almost chances and kinda opportunities, the Five Stripes and newly inserted Villalba buried the game. TITO YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD!!!! pic.twitter.com/4rV34W70wd — Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) June 14, 2018 Atlanta United not only builds on their lead on top of the Supporters’ Shield and Eastern Conference standings with the win, the Five Stripes own a 14 points cushion from the playoff-earning sixth spot in the conference due to Orlando City’s (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH) 3-0 loss to Montreal Impact. The Five Stripes now take their longest break of the season. Atlanta United will return to action June 24 when they welcome Portland to MBS. EDIT: There’s also a USOC game next Wednesday that Sam forgot because USOC. Thanks for understanding.<doc-sep>Welcome to the Morning After the Morning After. Rather than hastily writing about the events of this week’s Atlanta United match and other events around the league, we want to bring you the kind of well-reasoned, thoughtful analysis of both Atlanta United and the rest of the league that comes from sitting things out for a day or two. Now that we’re two days removed from going on the road to Columbus and taking a 2-0 road win over the best defensive team in the league DOESN’T EVERYONE FEEL BETTER? Atlanta United Thought of the Week “So...this could be a record setting team in more ways than one. You know, if things go right. But like, there’s a somewhat decent chance that things go right.” **AHEM** Of those 9 matches, 6 will come against teams currently below their respective conference's red line. — Chris Winkler (@ChrisWinklerUSC) June 14, 2018 And also: a word of caution on the ATLUTD 2.1 away ppg. At this point last year the highest MLS away ppg was LAG at 1.9, and they ended at 1.1. Second highest was Toronto's 1.5 which ended at 1.6. — Titotal Football (@TiotalFootball) June 14, 2018 WE. ARE. GOOD. And there’s a chance we’re good enough to go after multiple records by the end of the regular season, namely, the aforementioned Seattle record for road points and wins, and, stay with me, Toronto’s MLS record for points in a season. The brunt of 2017 TFC’s all-time MLS-best 69 ( cool great nice) points came from a stunning 13-1-3 home record that earned them 42 points, a final tally of 2.47 points per game. Atlanta United is currently on a 2 point per game pace at home. Phenomenal, but not 2017 TFC. Thank god for road games. Last year’s record-setting Toronto team finished with 27 road points. Atlanta’s 2.13 points per road game puts them on track for about 36 road points in 2018. Add the projected 34 points at home and you get a grand total of 70 points. One point better than last year’s Reds. These things obviously fluctuate and its unreasonable to insist Atlanta United keeps up this pace on the road but it’s not crazy to believe they might. ATLUTD Comm’s Director, Chris Winkler hinted at the weak road schedule remaining. He may have undersold it. The average points per game of the nine remaining road games comes out 1.17 points per game. Minnesota United is currently averaging 1.14 points per game. Five road wins puts us at the 32 points needed to match 2011 Seattle’s road points total. Six wins — home ppg. staying even — gives us the 35 road points needed to tie ‘17 TFC. Throw a draw in there and we have the record. Is it that far out the realm of possibility to imagine going 6-2-1 against Minnesota? That’s assuming we don’t get better or worse at home. Fortunately, the home schedule isn’t exactly punishing. The average points per game of the Five Stripes’ remaining home opponents is 1.27. It’s a little more difficult overall than the road stretch, however the toughest team coming to the Benz the rest of the way is Columbus, a team that Atlanta handled with relative ease on the road two nights ago. Toronto’s home record is almost certainly untouchable, but if an Atlanta United team that’s been dominant on the road begins to improve on an already stellar record at home, then the Reds’ time atop the MLS points list may be short lived. The only question with this team right now may involve defensive depth as injuries begin to pile up in the back line. If Atlanta were to bring in help for it’s back line and for veteran Jeff Larentowicz in midfield then they may just be an unstoppable OHMMYYYGOD Principio de acuerdo para que la próxima semana se firme la transferencia de Eric Remedi al Atlanta United de la MLS: 2 millones de dólares por el 50%, más bonos por objetivos, más un convenio de cooperación directa entre ambos clubes. #MercadoDePases #Banfield pic.twitter.com/zXbjhgybOW — VarskySports (@VarskySports) June 14, 2018 Don’t get your hopes up. Things happen. Sports are stupid. But it’s getting harder and harder to not be excited about what this team could be. Atlanta United Tweet of the Week gYAsI ZArDeS iS A bEtTer sTrIKer THan jOSeF mArtINeZ pic.twitter.com/T88JpcPHKZ — Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) June 14, 2018 Bonus: (Doyle didn’t even have anything mean to say, that’s how good we were.) This has been a dominant, fantastic performance from @ATLUTD. Great win at a tough place to play. #CLBvATL — Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) June 14, 2018 Atlanta United Quote of the Week “FIFA chose two cities to tour and chose New York and Atlanta earlier in the year. Atlanta was front and center of this bid. If you saw any of the footage of the 15-minute video that the United bid was allowed to show to the voters, half of it was Atlanta. We were able to demonstrate here that soccer has taken off in America. Atlanta United averages 53,000 in attendance, which ranks 15th in the entire world. This is our way of saying, ‘If we can do this in Atlanta, imagine what we can do in America with an eight year head start’. That was one of the factors that swayed the vote.” - Darren Eales Bonus: (Here’s the video he’s talking about) Here's *most* of the video United 2026 presented today and that Darren Eales mentioned this morning. He wasn't kidding. Atlanta is very *here* for this. (h/t Guardian Football YouTube: https://t.co/a2BO86BmQU) pic.twitter.com/z7dI9xnoVp — J. Sam Jones (@J_SamJones) June 13, 2018 MLS Tweet of the Week Best XI: 11 Non-Atlanta United Things That Happened In the League Called MLS or Major League Soccer during this Week in MLS* *All quotes are totally made up unless otherwise noted but it’s more fun to imagine them being real so do that 1. TORONTO BACK!! ! Toronto FC totally proved their back for the fourth week in a row by going down 3-0 to D.C. United in the first half. All according to plan.<doc-sep>The busy stretch for Columbus Crew SC comes to an end on Wednesday night when Atlanta United comes to MAPFRE Stadium. The Black & Gold enter this match on a nine-game unbeaten run, but it’s been since mid-May since Columbus has won a game. Crew SC has three straight draws in Major League Soccer play as well as the penalty kick shootout loss in the U.S. Open Cup to the Chicago Fire last Wednesday. Despite not a lot of wins recently, the Black & Gold sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, only three points off the top spot in MLS. That spots belongs to Atlanta. United comes into this match with one win in the last four games, but the Five Stripes have only lost three times in 2018 and only once on the road. Crew SC will get a boost in this contest with the return of midfield captain Wil Trapp and goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who are back from more than a week away with the U.S. National Team. Atlanta meanwhile could be without playmaker Miguel Almiron, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. Following this match, the Black & Gold will be off for 10 days. Can Crew SC head into the World Cup break with a win and sitting at the top of the East? Let’s see what our staff thinks. Eliot McKinley In case you haven’t heard, Atlanta United is a pretty good soccer team and Josef Martinez is a pretty good goal scorer. Atlanta is second in MLS in both expected goals for and against per game, trailing only Crew SC in the latter. The Black & Gold should get a boost from the return of Wil Trapp and Zack Steffen from National Team duty and the possible absence of Miguel Alrmiron for Atlanta due to injury. Red cards and/or penalty kicks seem to be abnormally common in games involving Atlanta, so be prepared for the unexpected in a game that could go either way. Nevertheless, I predict Crew SC will grind out a win, snapping the team’s three-game winless streak and extending its unbeaten streak to 10. Columbus Crew SC 2 Atlanta United 1 Collin Johnson Heading into the World Cup break on an unbeaten streak would be a huge confidence boost for a team already playing some inspired soccer. Still, a point, even at home, won’t come easily against an Atlanta team that Crew SC gave up five goals to last season. Aside from the incredible 0-0 playoff victory at Atlanta last season, Columbus has been terrible against the Five Stripes, getting thoroughly outclassed in both of last season’s regular season matches. This year’s Black & Gold side boasts a much improved defensive group, but Atlanta’s offense has gotten even better with the addition of Ezequiel Barco. Luckily, it looks like Atlanta will be without key attacker Miguel Almiron, while Crew SC should be near full strength for the first time since Pedro Santos’ red card against the Seattle Sounders. Without Almiron, on the road, and a young team eager to take a two-week break, it seems like Columbus has caught United at exactly the right place to grab at least a point. My bet is on Atlanta playing a lackadaisical first half without Almiron and laying on some pressure in the second, but not in time to secure a victory. Columbus Crew SC 2 Atlanta United 1 Guilherme Torres When the Crew meets Atlanta United, it will be MLS’s best defense (the Black & Gold, which conceded only 14 goals) facing the league’s best offense (the Five Stripes, with 31 goals scored). That alone should suggest that the visitors are the ones expected to dominate the game and push numbers forward, but I expect exactly the opposite, with Crew SC controlling possession and Atlanta exploring counter attacks. United proved to be a tough matchup for Columbus last season, when it beat the Crew twice in regular season, but the scoreless draw and subsequent Black & Gold penalty kicks victory in the playoffs in Georgia changed the narrative a little bit. Also, Atlanta won’t have Greg Garza and might not have both Miguel Almiron and Hector Villalba, making things easier for the Crew. With both Josef Martínez and Gyasi Zardes, ranked first and second in the league’s scoring table, on the field, I anticipate goals and the Black & Gold remaining undefeated, but also failing to get a win again. Columbus Crew SC 2 Atlanta United 2 Patrick Murphy I said before this recent home stand that we would learn a lot about Crew SC. I think we have. What I’ve gathered is that this is a good team, but not one of the elite groups in MLS. The fact that a depleted Toronto FC side was able to come to MAPRE Stadium and get a three-goal lead was concerning. Yes, the Black & Gold came back, but that was a little flukey. Once again on Saturday, Columbus couldn’t convert chances and it cost them. In this match, I think there will be plenty of chances for Crew SC, as I don’t think Atlanta’s defense is very good. Yes, United will potentially be without multiple attacking options, but I think the Five Stripes have enough in the bank to cause the Black & Gold issues. Having Zack Steffen and Wil Trapp back will help, but I don’t think this is a positive result for the Columbus faithful. Atlanta United 2 Columbus Crew SC 1 Josh Mlot What a way to go into the World Cup break. These two teams have been two of the best in the Eastern Conference, play entertaining soccer and are in good runs of form. Atlanta is one of the few teams in MLS that are truly an intimidating matchup, simply because of its attacking explosiveness and ability to take advantage of the slightest mistake. Josef Martinez is a terror. If there is any good news for Columbus, it’s that Miguel Almiron might be out dealing with an injury. Barring that, I expect both sides will field full-strength squads ahead of a slight layoff.<doc-sep>Tata Martino spoke with reporters Monday morning to give us some further insight into the status of certain players for Wednesday’s Eastern Conference clash against the Columbus Crew. Overall, it’s a mixed bag. Miguel Almiron: Atlanta’s star player is questionable for Wednesday’s match and will be re-evaluated during the two trainings prior. Almiron left last Saturday’s game against NYCFC at halftime after sustaining a shoulder injury. Martino hinted that if the Paraguayan is unavailable against the Crew, the goal is to get him back by the U.S. Open Cup matchup against the Chicago Fire on June 20. Chris McCann: Martino announced that the Irishman will once again be unavailable on Wednesday with a hamstring injury. He’s listed as day-to-day. Tito Villalba: After missing the last four matches due to a hyperextended knee, Villalba is available for selection on Saturday. Although Martino said the forward was available for selection last Saturday against NYCFC, he wasn’t included on the bench. Let’s see if that changes on Wednesday.<doc-sep>
This was Atlanta United’s most impressive win of the season Everything was going against Atlanta United coming into Wednesday’s clash with Eastern Conference contenders Columbus Crew Wednesday night. The team had every reason to pack it in with a negative, cynical type of performance to try to grind out a valuable road point. Instead, we got the opposite. Somehow, the Five Stripes summoned enough energy — despite a grueling battle against NYCFC — to overwhelm Columbus in its own ground. And it wasn’t just the players who were aggresive and proactive in preparation for the match. With only two days of training between the games, Tata Martino changed the shape of the team. Veteran midfielder Jeff Larentowicz told Fox Sports South’s Kevin Egan and Jason Longshore after the match that the move gave the team a big lift: “We went to two of the more difficult places in the league in one week — four days apart — I thought the team did really well tonight. I think some of the best deneding you can do is with the ball. I thought tonight with the switch we had more of the ball and we felt more comfortable. That was what was stressed after the New York game in training. Get on the ball and enjoy it a bit. From the outset, we got on the ball and moved it. It gets you into the game and it limits how much they can attack.” Tata’s Martino’s change to a 4-2-3-1 was a pleasant surprise Many of us, from writers to readers to other fans, have been clamoring for Atlanta United to change something to get the team playing in a more attractive style. Whether it had to do with a formation change, a personnel swap or some other adjustment, it seemed clear that something needed to be done to give the team a lift. In the end, it was a change back to the trusted 4-2-3-1 of last season that had Atlanta United playing in a much more aggressive manner — one much more reminiscent of the club’s debut season. Funnily enough, Martino ran out the same exact starting XI that he used against NYCFC at the weekend, but the change in shape created different responsibilities for players that had them pushed much higher up the field. It paid off in a big way, and it was fun to watch. When's the last time we've seen this? pic.twitter.com/ne7F4omSEw — Joe Patrick (@japatrick200) June 13, 2018 Barco looked assertive on the left wing One of the byproducts of the change in shape is forcing one of Miguel Almiron or Ezequiel Barco to the wing. Barco looked comfortable and confident in that position last week in the U.S. Open Cup against the Charleston Battery, and likewise, he carried that form into the match against the Crew Wednesday night. Barco was able to find gaps between the Crew’s defense and attack, and once he received the ball and turned, Barco was aggressive in his runs. He wasn’t perfect, but this is a role that offers Barco very simple intstruction and can hopefully allow his instincts to take over on the field. when Barco runs at defenders like this.... pic.twitter.com/jO21vHbjJk — Joe Patrick (@japatrick200) June 13, 2018 Things were not perfect in the 4-2-3-1 As fun as it was to watch “the old Atlanta United” (meaning one that presses and takes risks) there’s no doubt that it was far from perfect. Obviously, the team was positioned in a way that left a lot of space behind the back line. When you play in this manner, you’re always going to be vulnerable to the counter attack and will need to rely on sound positioning and execution from defenders. But at times, the positioning was helter skelter and it left gaps available for Columbus to exploit. This is where Atlanta needs to improve in this shape. They've been over-aggressive at times, leaving large gaps in midfield. pic.twitter.com/OWdA7fDVZ0 — Joe Patrick (@japatrick200) June 14, 2018 [Whispers] This team has another level Maybe the most exciting aspect of Wednesday night’s win was that we saw a glimpse of what this team can be when it’s at it’s best. We didn’t actually see the team at it’s best tonight, but we saw glimpses of what it’s capable of. Playing in a more proactive style, when this team gets all of Josef Martinez, Miguel Almiron, Ezequiel Barco and Tito Villalba in the lineup... oh my gosh y’all it’s gonna be nuts.