Concern might be brewing at Atlanta United after its expensive attack was once again held scoreless for the second consecutive match in a 0-0 draw against New York Red Bulls.
The Five Stripes now have four points of nine through three games and a 1-1-1 record.
Ronny Deila changed two starters from the lineup that fell 2-0 on the road to Charlotte FC last Saturday. Pedro Amador, who made his first appearance of 2025, slotted into the starting lineup at left back in place of Luis Abram. Tristan Muyumba started in place of Ajani Fortune in center midfield alongside Bartosz Slisz. Other notable inclusions in the matchday roster included striker Cayman Togashi, whom Atlanta United signed over the offseason, and 17-year-old homegrown left back Dominik Chong-Qui, whom received a third consecutive first team call up this season.
It was mostly one-way traffic in Atlanta United’s favor throughout the first half. Although the team did not have most of the possession, they looked very dangerous when they did have it. The Five Stripes created 10 shots to Red Bulls’ two and put six of those attempts on target.
The second half saw much less action from the Five Stripes as New York made some defensive-minded substitutions at halftime, causing issues for them going forward. Despite Atlanta’s repeated attempts at breaching the Red Bulls’ defense, they were unable to get on the scoreboard before fulltime and had to settle for a draw.
Atlanta United returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, March 15 when it will host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments below.
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Think the team is all over the place…from a personnel pov, tactics, etc. Some is expected wrt the way the team has been put together, changes in coaching, etc. We aren’t skilled (creative, clinical) on the ball to be effective in possession, we’ve got some speed but aren’t disciplined enough to play a counter. Being direct isn’t going to be consistently effective if crosses are errant, you don’t have aerial finishers and you aren’t clinical enough to throw bodies forward, shift an opponent off balance and finish. It’s by no means a disaster,,,xG suggests we should have gotten one, though one could argue they could have as well…so a draw seems like the most frequent outcome there…and it’s early in the season, new coach, new players…and MLS isn’t exactly stout top to bottom. Mid to upper mid table seems about right for this team. It will have some success. It will struggle against well organized teams who are larger in back…esp those strong on the counter.
I’m not sure how you could argue that NYRB could have scored with zero shots on goal. Our defense was much improved; our offense continues to struggle.
The defense was decent, didn’t argue otherwise. Their xG were .8. Just because a shot or shots go off frame doesn’t mean there weren’t scoring opportunities. It might be that 8/10 those do go on frame and maybe 35% they result in goals. The shots on goal matter less than the opportunities created by geometry in the field. There were several examples throughout the game. One of the best examples would be when there are several shot attempts ending up with Eile collecting the ball in front of goal and launches it over the top. That is not a shot on goal. But if you don’t think that sequence represents a scoring opportunity and the final shot being a goal just as often as not, not sure how else to explain it.
Tend to agree. NYRB at no point threatened us. They were completely fine with a 0-0 draw, or getting a fluky goal to steal 3.
They did have 2 break aways where they caught us out of position that they really should have done a lot better with. Those didn’t result in shots but one could argue they could/should have resulted in goals or at least really really good chances.
Don’t know what’s going on with the crowd. Two home games and there are no regulars in my section and the ones attending, are way too quiet. I saw a lot of empty seats, not as many as last year but I want to see a lot more fans. Hopefully with Miami here next week things will change.
So…gentlemen, on your podcast last week you each said your “worry level” was low. How about know? Cause I’m not seeing the second half issues improving..
I would say there was improvement of our 2nd half issue considering Atlanta did not give up any goals in the 2nd half yesterday…
Hmm…not sure about Miranchuk. He’s too slow…
In general, I thought it was a horribly sloppy game. Our passing was not crisp and we lack any ability to create the final incisive pass in the final third. I still fail to see the value of Alexy.
On the bright side, Amador and Edwards are great, so our back 4 is set. And with the double 6, we should be very strong defensively this year
I am with you on Alexey. I’m beginning to think the MLS speed of play is much faster than what he anticipated. MLS gets a bad wrap but the quality keeps improving; Redbulls had a very strong midfield and defense and crowed the middle. We needed somebody like Almada to break through. Alexey and Miggy need to get on the same page; he needs to be faster to occupy the right flank when Miggy drives through the middle.
I would argue that Miggy needs to figure out where he’s playing. When he goes central two things happen. He and Mira get in each others way while the wing play is nonexistent (this is more evident in the 2nd half once Edwards is tired of cowering the entire wing play by himself). Additionally I see that SLAM are chasing/defending a lot (they go from high press to defending in their own box moments later) which shows in the 2nd half and impacts their ability to create and finish big chances. Coaching staff needs to tweak their tactics in order for the 4 to flourish.
Why are we making zero attempts to use ELLs speed?
Alexey again, seems a bit off. How many interceptions is that now this season? Anyone have that stat? I liked his aggressiveness in the first half but everyone pretty much died in the second half. Sloppy with a dash of unlucky bounces.