Well… April didn’t go exactly as planned.
Four matches- two at home, two on the road- and a winless 0-1-3 record to show for it. Couple that with two dropped leads, and things look even more disappointing. After a week to reflect, Atlanta United (3-3-3) comes back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to host expansion sibling Minnesota United (5-2-2) for the first time since the Five Stripes lifted the U.S. Open Cup on home turf all the way back in 2019.
With a cleaner bill of health (Williams and Thiare still ruled out through injury), pressure is ramping up on Gonzalo Pineda and his squad to right the ship, especially in front of home fans that witnessed valuable points slip away against Philadelphia and then Cincinnati. Minnesota, meanwhile, comes in on back to back wins against Charlotte FC and Sporting Kansas City, scoring five goals across the two games while conceding only once. The veteran presences of Wil Trapp, Robin Lod, and Teemu Pukki will contrast Atlanta’s more youthful side, bringing comparisons to the forefront of squad attributes like composure and decision making, things the Five Stripes haven’t been all that great at in recent performances.
Kickoff from the Benz is advertised for 7:30 PM ET, with actual kickoff approximately 10 minutes later at 7:40 PM. This match, and all others this weekend, are being shown for free on Apple TV, the only requirement being signing in with an Apple ID. Radio coverage is provided in English on 92.9 The Game and in Spanish on La Mejor.
As we get ready for tonight’s match and to be back in the stands, be sure to check out our match preview and predictions to prepare yourself for the match to come, then hop over to our match thread in the comments below to chat pre-, during, and post- match action from the Benz.
Atlanta United’s Lineup:
Minnesota United’s Lineup:
How to Watch:
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Kickoff Time: Saturday, May 4th; 7:40 PM ET
Available TV/Streaming: Free on Apple TV (with Apple ID)
Available Radio: 92.9 The Game, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
This thread will be your match thread. We don’t have many rules here. We just ask that you don’t insult each other personally and treat each other with respect. Debates can get heated and that’s fine, but name-calling and petty insults will get you banned. If you see a comment that you feel is out of line, please report it and it will be dealt with.
Garth please extend Pineda’s contract tomorrow for 2 more years!
I guarantee you guys, if Pineda goes, and he probably won’t yet, it’s just re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. He’ll be replaced with another MLS assistant who has never been a manager before. The flaws may change, but the end result will be the same.
Yea because all our other coaching fails have been MLS assistants like… oh yea FDB and heinze both were international borderline world class coaches
Agreed. They’ve spent money on the team. Don’t see why we’d skimp on a coach. They thought they could catch lightning in a bottle with Pineda. They didn’t. No problem, move on and get someone better and more experienced.
You know nothing.
Stadium’s playing “The Heat Is On.”
That’s an interesting choice.
Pineda needs to be fired. We need someone new. Inexcusable loss. Team looks awful, unmotivated. We continue to give up stupid goals every week.
Team looked pretty motivated at the end there. But I agree Pineda is not providing answers, especially on offense
This team should be better. Really, really, really need a new coach. Really.
How much of an issue is it that we don’t have any speed outside of almada amongst our stay players? That seems to be a big handicap
We have speed all over the field….We are out of position and don’t make optimal runs along with hustle.
Our issue is we aren’t disciplined on defense….don’t work in midfield…and don’t play with conviction the whole game.
Oh okay, that makes more sense because there’s no way we’re that much slower than 29 other teams
Hopefully that cures Saba of his Yips.
Also, I’m calling credit for Saba back on the right.
man he needed that
Good effort by Yaka
I can’t believe we haven’t scored on Goalkeeper Drake yet. Well I can, because I have been down on this team since the end of Pineda’s first half season. But still.
Is he bad?
No idea. But at this time, it feels like anything that seems Drake-like should lead to Ls.
There were 8 of our guys in front on f almada . Why?
I think it’s about time someone flips the sandwich table…
Chicken and rice*
“It’s just painful” well said. I like These commentators
I largely agreed with the commentators’ takes tonight.
Much of our game plan tonight appears to have been to fire 50/50 balls at their back line.
I’d say our problem is that our passes aren’t accurate enough. There’s ideas happening where if the pass was accurate, it would’ve been great. But everything goes past our players or to the defense.
I don’t understand that. That’s like a basic concept that players should know by high school
Yes and no. Just because it’s basics doesn’t mean that everyone can do it well. That’s a talent+team chemistry thing.
Well supposedly our players are talented and it’s not like we’re the only team in mls that has new players, so idk why we can’t even pass it except for armada and Noah Cobb
Agree with you on the passing. Don’t think I’ve seen too many ideas tonight.
The curved pass from gg to Saba. Lennon’s cross to gg’s shot. Mosquera’s cross over the box. Wiley’s over the tops to Wolff. Almada’s pass to Saba after dribbling past two. If those passes come off, they result in much better shots, but they get intercepted or go out.
Wohoo, 70 minutes in and we finally get our second shot on target.
I left for 15 minutes…. What happened?
1) Give up a goal on a set piece via the usual “We didn’t cover the guy” reason.
2) BAD pass/giveaway by Wiley in our half of the pitch that led to a goal.
I’ve continued to say that Wiley is way overrated
i had to turn it off after the bad pass by Wiley…there was literaly no pace on that sad attempt at a pass
Giakomakis has seen zero quality service since he came back. Nobody can get open. It’s like teams have figured out Pineda’s system, and we can’t adjust.
Pineda has got to go
Like tonight!
Maybe we should practice the game instead of celebrating birthdays and the other non-soccer we see on social media.
Gross
Well, now that players fighting with each other, team is ready to complete the self-destruct.
Pathetic.
Spoiler alert… shy of a miracle, we lose this game
… and they just scored again. Game over. Good night, all. I’m f”&$ing pissed. Fire Pineda TONIGHT!!!!!!!
Not a well coached team. Not at all.
It’s beyond infuriating. I had a better coach in college soccer.
I’ll bet you did. Our coach has us playing at a high school level.
Damn
I hate to say it, but at this point, this game feels like Minnesota is going to score before Pineda makes a sub and adjusts
… and literally as I post this comment! Good grief.
Hernandez is warming up
Oh phew, we are saved…
Did Frank DeBoer sneak in the building ? Lotsa possession and rare shots. Maybe we are trying to bore them to death
On the plus side the D is pretty good . I like that Cobb is trying to push the ball down field with some long passes that have connected.
We wouldn’t be giving up the goals we do under DeBoer.
The female commentator is really ripping our tactics a new one
Do we have tactics?
Man it’s been a treat to see Guz playing like this though
Although I guess that was more lucky than good. Props for recovery though
Like I said, can Saba shoot at all lol?
He has to have the yips based on that play.
Have we had a shot on target?
No, only shot was Saba’s way off
We just don’t seem to have any ideas on offense. No plan to pull them out of shape and break them down. And we struggle mightily against the press.
This is my biggest observation (the last 4-5 games) and with Pineda in general. The players have the talent, but it just feels like they are sent out there with the mentality/direction of ‘move, play well, and try to score’. It just seems like we don’t have a plan of attack or a general team consensus on how we should maneuver to exploit the opposing defensive scheme.
You can tell Minnesota is trying to exploit/counter attack quickly when Lennon or Wiley are out of position (when we are on attack)… but I can’t tell what our plan is?
Exactly. I could not say what our identity is supposed to be, other than committing a reckless amount of players forward
Cobb mvp so far
I wonder why we have stuck with switching Saba and Mosquera. I thought Lennon and Saba at least had some chemistry.
Probably trying to shake things up since it always feels like we’re outnumbered in the midfield
Good point! I think they play better as you stated.
Saba cannot buy a goal
He’s had some close ones. I always get a little chuckle watching Saba… he looks a little like my distant cousin that is a recovering meth addict, but man can Saba play well and move fast into some dangerous spots!! Love watching him and his intensity; such a good player.
Yea I really like him but he’s been in some incredible positions and whiffed like crazy
Crazy how we don’t even have a shot in goal during that sequence. Is that a tactical issue or what?
So i forget. Why do we have a light blue kit? It has something to do with Atlanta being the Phoenix city right?
I have no idea either…
Flag for the city of Atlanta:
https://images.app.goo.gl/P6vmfzah9FpYpogTA
Let’s go AU… show us some spark on the offense, make smart choices, and give us some hope!! Minnesota is a very good away team, so you gotta bring it tonight!
I have the same feeling about the resurgens kit as I did about about city in the mint forest kit …. Burn them and if you don’t burn them you sure as hell don’t wear them at home
I HATE the Resurgens kit for multiple reasons that have nothing to do with what it looks like.
1) Resurgens isn’t a real word. Look it up if you don’t believe me. Or perhaps I should say instead that the correct spelling is “resurgence”. There’s a reason why they deliberately misspelled it. And it’s not good.
2) The entire marketing campaign behind is the very first thing Atlanta United has ever done that screams loudly “This is NOT for everybody, but just SOME people.:” I’m not one of the people this jersey is aimed for, so hard pass.
For the record, I’m wearing my 404 jersey right now as I type this. And they probably picked tonight to wear the new one just to dick with Minnesota – not kidding.
By the way, I went to a couple of matches at MBS last year. I haven’t yet gone this year. But it was crazy how many people were wearing the forest jersey even when the team was wearing the traditional colors or the 404 one. I’d guess maybe 20% wore the forest jersey anyway.
I’m not sure what you’re implying. Resurgence as in “the south will rise again”? Because I can 110% guarantee you that is not a sentiment the teak is trying to promote. And even if they were, those types of people are few and far between, and live far from the city in the dumpiest towns in the state.
Also, I think the 404 kit was a great idea, but not well executed. If they had gone for a cooler color scheme with a more fluid graffiti design rather than copy paste, it would have done better and I might have even bought it.
resurgens is a real word, in latin. Look it up if you don’t believe me. I get it if you think it’s weird it’s in Latin, but it’s a thing all over American government things and American culture in general – e pluribus unum on coins, etc (which etc itself is short for the Latin et cetera)
resurgens (and the phoenix) is also the motto/emblem of Atlanta because the whole city was completely literally burned down towards the end of the civil war. It took the theme of the phoenix resurrecting from the ashes, to become the biggest city in Georgia and one of the biggest in the country. The motto has nothing to do with confederacy and everything to do with rebuilding from literal ashes.