Atlanta United kicked off their 2024 Leagues Cup campaign with an insane 3-3 draw, and ultimately earned only a point from the penalty shootout. It was a wild first half, followed by an equally crazy second half. Atlanta United essentially gave D.C. two early goals, but Daniel Rios and Saba kept the team alive going into the half down 3-2. Then there was a missed penalty and a banger of a penalty to tie it up 3-3. Neutrals, eat your hearts out, Atlanta fans…take a breath. Here are the final whistle thoughts from this Leagues Cup opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Mistakes
These mistakes were just rough, especially those in the first half. The turnovers were costly, the throw-ins were lacking fundamentals, and the individual mistakes gave D.C. two goals. Then, Atlanta United is given a very obvious penalty in the second half and it was unfortunately wasted by Bartosz Slisz. Passes were errant for much of the night and the defensive organization was wildly shaky.
It’s so frustrating to have one of those “could’ve, would’ve, should’ve” matches, but this was that type of game for Atlanta United. Just as D.C. could’ve been up 5-2 in the early part of the second half if not for Man of the Match T. Woodwork, the Five Stripes could’ve been up 3-1 if not for giving up silly chances and not finishing that penalty.
Walking a fine line
Atlanta United is walking a fine line between being a team that does the job against all odds or a team that just can’t figure it out. We know reinforcements are on the way but the Five Stripes are doing everything they can to grind out matches in the meantime…but tonight they honestly beat themselves. Josh Cohen admittedly had a rough performance, but then he went and saved the first penalty kick of the shootout and kept his team alive to earn the two points. Then, Brooks Lennon had his PK saved shortly thereafter and that encapsulates the up and down nature of this team right now.
To finish the tragic script, it would be Slisz who again missed his penalty to give D.C. United the two points from the shootout. Without the win in the opener, Atlanta needs to take on a struggling Santos Laguna and pull a solid W to make it out of the group.
Mi corazon
League’s Cup got their money’s worth, at least. Fans got a roller coaster of emotions. Pedro Amador got his first minutes in an Atlanta United jersey, which was definitely a positive. Josh Cohen almoooost got chipped from off his goal in the 95th minute. These wacky games are difficult to take anything of substance from, but they sure as heck keep cardiologists in business.
Let us know your thoughts from the match down below!
The loudest truth to me was when the commentators highlighted that we are rebuilding YET AGAIN (which begs the question, when was the last time we were actually built to constitute this being a REbuild?). This has been the story for years now, and they wondered aloud how long they expect the fans to accept the continuous push of the reset button.
And they were right. 18/19 were prime years so using that as our baseline means we’ve still struggled to field a cohesive team capable of titles. So the FO is in the process of “rebuilding” to get back to that point and I completely agree. Sadly, rebuilds take time and they got the first bit of that time wrong. Then they got some pieces of it right, and now it’s wrong again (though i’d say any time you have the option to get 2.5x+ return on players, you don’t think twice).
First reaction: This is a bad soccer team and the fans have abandoned the MBS. Another reset? Another ticket price increase? Go **** yourself Arthur.
Slisz continues to show a lack of quality at key moments. Even disregarding the 2 penalty misses, which were unforgivable. He’s a bench player nothing more. He’s slow. Has poor touch.
Our 1st 2 give away goals define our defense since 2020. A mistake waiting to happen.
Cohen shouldn’t step on the field the rest of the year.
We desperately need the ability to hold, distribute and attack from the mids. Currently our midfield is slow, uncreative and brings zero bite offensively or defensively. I hope the new DP can raise the bar, but we need more than one middie to fix our issues.
We need to get Mosquera back. Timeline??
Saba kicks ass. Love the dude.
I won’t be so negative on Slisz, DC had more men on the midfield and our midfielders could not cope with it. Missing two penalties is bad but who chose him to quick them? Did they practice with him being “the man” to do it? I would say he is better than other 6’s we’ve had except in 2017
Mosquera was technically available, but he did not make the active roster. Based off the availability report, everyone was available other than Noah Cobb, who is away on the U20 Championships
We need Mosquera back? Are you on an alternate timeline where’s he’s technically proficient on the ball?
Didn’t watch, but seems that Cohen continues to demonstrate that he’s simply not a starting GK…
Totally agree. Horrendous goalkeeping. I thought he was our solution since he was hyped as a great keeper having played in Champions cup. He’s had now two chances to show us what he has; nothing. No shot stopping ability, terrible foot play, slow reactions; wow, we need a keeper after Guz goes. As I’ve said before, we need a keeper that can steal goals from the opposition and provide confidence to our defense that even if they make a mistake, there is someone back there that can bail them out. Very disappointed with his roster slot being wasted.
I felt nervous whenever the ball went back to him. Not how you want to feel about your keeper. He had some truly atrocious distribution early in the game.
We need Tijuanas keeper
Just watched the highlights. Horror show from Sliz. But what an entertaining match that was.
The attendance was extremely low. So many empty seats. I feel sad; send us some help.
What’s really going to be sad will be the Santos match. MBS will be hostile territory for AU.
Well, it was low but not terribly low. A lot of people got there late. Actually, the game itself was entertaining and AU showed a few little things I liked, But also some horrible moments.
I don’t know if any of you are boxing fans, but on boxing message boards people like to distinguish between hard core fans and “casuals”. It’s certainly a bit judgy in a lot of contexts, but it’s really just distinguishing between someone who loves the sport itself and is going to argue about stances and head position and stuff like that v. someone that is there for the spectacle of it all.
This season has finally pushed me over the edge from hard core to casual.
Agreed. I won’t be attending any games in person this season or next and I very much doubt I’ll renew Apple MLS pass. Just a chore to watch at this point. No fun, no joy, no excitement and two DP is not going to fix this team IMHO.
I agree but I enjoy soccer so much that I’m learning to look at the little positives that show up once in a while. We are playing faster; converting chances more efficiently (I think; have no stats, just eye test). We are not as boring as before and sometimes we are playing as a team. The best thing for me: I have no idea what team we are going to get, so at least it keeps it interesting. Just trying to stay positive.
I have shifted all sports all watching to soccer – predictable , 2 hrs , no commercials. Aside from the occasional college football game AU is where I am at. The game was entertaining but I would have preferred to be on the winning side. Right now the team performance keeps me on the couch watching – a better performing team would have me in MBS frequently.
My first reaction is I hope we lose the next game too so we don’t have to endure anymore leagues cup. If we were halfway decent I would probably want us to win, but who cares at this point.
I’d love for us to punt the next match
Well, the next match should really be more of a test tube and continued to tweak things. If we lose; fine but I wouldn’t just punt. I would fake the punt and throw a pass.
What a mess.
I’m waiting for Slisz to get used to this league. Is that what it is? He’s just not used to it, right? He has “it” but then he fumbles the ball, makes a bad pass, or misses two PKs.
Worst game of the season for Brooks. Love the guy but he was absolutely crashing tonight. Does he know how to NOT cross it to the back post?
And what about our goal keeper hopes?! I think Cohen is proving to not be the savior we were hoping for next year. Not yet anyway.
Do we honestly think two DPs are going to be the answer?
I honestly think that the 2 correct DPs would be a very large part of the answer, and might even be the entire answer to our questions/needs. The best players are not only good in their own right; they raise the play of their teammates as well. If we get the right DPs, we could play much more cohesively without all the mental mistakes we have been seeing.
Exactly. Two good DPs (assuming they both pan out), are not only going to be one for one upgrades at CAM and ST, but they are going to bend defenses and elevate the guys around them. Additionally, that’s two high-end players we don’t have on the depth chart, so we are starting backups and getting into the deep cuts of the roster quicker.