Chicago Fire 0-0 Atlanta United: Staff, community player ratings

In the Andrew Gutman Derby, Atlanta United slogged to a goalless draw vs. the Chicago Fire. It was a disappointing result in a match where United were expected to pick up 3 points, so let’s review it with our staff and community player ratings.

GK: Brad Guzan – 6

The Fire had no shots on target and hit the crossbar on a quick shot Guzan could only come out to and make himself big. He moved the ball around well and didn’t really have to do much of anything. Solid.

LB: Caleb Wiley – 5

Wiley was poor in this match defensively. Not only was he constantly bullied off the ball by Chicago’s frontline, his tacking was not efficient. On offense, his passing was so-so. It’s a night to forget for the youngster.

CB: Luis Abram – 6

Abram is sometimes hard to watch, but he did his job well in the match, clearing the ball when needed and moving it well when building out from the back. I do wish he’d check his shoulder more often, though, as when Chicago hit the bar, their player flew right behind his back. Otherwise, it was a solid night.

CB: Efrain Morales – 6

This may be seen as a low rating by many, but I wasn’t particularly impressed by Morales in his first pro appearance for the club. I don’t hate Efrain at all; I loved his performances in the preseason and thought we should call him up before Noah Cobb (that was wrong). But while he wasn’t bad by any means against the Fire, he didn’t stand out, either. After a shaky first 15 minutes when it came to positioning and the timing of his tackles, Morales was solid and nothing more, just like Abram. And honestly, that’s all you can ask of him, so props to him for a good first start.

RB: Brooks Lennon – 5

This was Lennon’s worst performance of the year. It wasn’t bad, but it was lackluster, as his crosses into the box never seemed to find feet and went into empty space, excluding the one ball to Saba that was miraculously saved in the first half. He just couldn’t make a huge difference in the match, which is a shame.

CDM: Bartosz Slisz – 7 (Man of the Match)

Slisz was United’s most consistent performer tonight and the Man of the Match for the 2nd week in a row. His passing was great, as he was one of the only players to consistently switch play, and his defending was fantastic. However, what was most impressive was his positioning. He settled on the 18 and shut down the Fire on defense, but on offense he stayed just behind Muyumba and combined well with him, Almada, and the wingers in the opponent’s final third. This change from usually lining up level with Muyumba really helped the team to attack and has been needed for weeks. Slisz is doing his job well at the moment for Atlanta when others aren’t and is looking to be a good signing.

CM: Tristan Muyumba – 6

Not a bad performance by Muyumba, as he was constantly in the attack (almost scored after two step-overs, plus a shot hit just wide) and moving the ball. However, he failed to make as big of an impact as usual and there’s real reason that can be pinpointed as to why; he just didn’t. His passing was so-so, but that didn’t really affect play to a great extent, so Muyumba just wasn’t at his best.

CAM: Thiago Almada – 7

Almada had a game that was a tale of two halves. In the first half, with the exception of a long pass to Giakoumakis that led to the goal called back for offside, his passing was extremely innacurate. In the second half, Almada’s passes were pinpoint and should have led to goals if not for the excellent saves of Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady. Almada became a workhorse dribbling through the midfield and was best when combining out wide at the corner of the 18 yard box with a winger like Wolff or Mosquera setting up crossing opportunities. He did his job, but the players up front just couldn’t deliver.

LW: Tyler Wolff – 6

Many fans online wanted Wolff to be subbed off after his first half, but I saw a different player today than what I usually see. Wolff was technical with the ball at his feet and confident playing under pressure. His combination play with Almada was good, as well. Were some passes off? Yes. Did he miss chances to play other players in? Yes. And while he still struggles to have confidence while driving at players, at least he tried it! I saw new hope for a young player who’s struggled to make an impact for Atlanta United this year. He continues to develop and has great potential as a facilitator out wide and a goal scoring presence through the smart runs he makes into space (he scored the goal that was called offside). He’s not there yet, but he needs to keep trying.

RW: Saba Lobjanidze – 6

Saba just didn’t get the ball enough today, plain and simple. There were plenty of attempts to switch play to him or cross it to him when he was unmarked in the box, but Atlanta never did. Ironically, Atlanta only started to play on the right side of the field when Saba moved to the left and Mosquera became the right winger.

When Saba received the ball, he whipped in good crosses and should have scored if not for the brilliance of a Chris Brady diving save to his right in the first half. Saba’s header was as perfect as you could head it and was bound for the net before the save. A solid performance with missed opportunities for the Georgian international.

CF: Giorgos Giakoumakis – 5

The Tank was poor in his first start since injury. While his work rate on defense was admirable, as he was making tackles where the midfield should have been, his first touch was heavy and ruined one of the biggest parts in his game: his hold-up play. He wasn’t expected to torch the Fire but to only light a flame, yet the flame never had a spark – a moment – to light it.

Subs:

CM: Dax McCarthy – N/A

Was in the game for a while, but didn’t add much significance and didn’t receive the ball enough for a full rating.

CF: Daniel Rios – N/A

Same as McCarthy, Rios rarely received the ball, but he had a header late in the match somehow stopped by Chris Brady.

RW: Edwin Mosquera – 7

Mosquera is an enigma, an on and off player that seems to be best at lighting a spark off the bench. He didn’t do that by driving at players like he usually does. Instead, he combined very well with Almada and others, setting up crosses rather than trying them himself, a bit like Wolff’s role in the first 60 minutes. I was impressed after a rough last few weeks for the winger.

Coach:

Gonzalo Pineda – 4

You have to beat the Chicago Fire and gain all three points, especially when you only gained 11 points from your first 8 games. While Pineda can be excused from opposing goalkeeper excellence, his general tactics were awful. His team rarely switched play enough and had two awful setups building out of the back (which will be explained in detail in a future article): one with a stagnant, level midfield dropped deep and one with a lonely No. 6, that led to giveaways way too often. He continues to struggle to teach his team how to play out of the opposing press out wide. Finally, the energy on the pitch was lethargic, as Pineda again failed to bring out a team with passion and quick play in the first half and beyond. Atlanta’s coach continues to field a different team on the road than at home and brings bad tactical changes on the road trip. When they don’t work out, he refuses to change anything, which may soon cost him his job if the results continue as they are now.

Now, here are your community player ratings for the match:

Brad Guzan: 6.32

Brooks Lennon: 5.64

Efrain Morales: 7.25

Luis Abram: 6.29

Caleb Wiley: 5.79

Bartosz Slisz: 7.29 (Man of the Match)

Tristan Muyumba: 6.18

Thiago Almada: 6.07

Saba Lobjandize: 6.39

Tyler Wolff: 4.43

Giorgos Giakoumakis: 5.29

Daniel Rios (Sub): 5.85

Edwin Mosquera (Sub): 5.15

Dax McCarty (Sub): 6.41

Gonzalo Pineda: 3.46