Atlanta United welcomed a floundering New England Revolution to the Benz on Saturday to cap off their three match home stand. After the 1-1 draw against FC Dallas last weekend, this match was absolutely a must-win to pull 7 points from the trio of matches before the Five Stripes head north to battle a stout Philadelphia squad. After 90 minutes, though, things aren’t exactly looking favorable going forward as the Five Stripes fell to the Revs 1-0. Here are the (very frustrating) final whistle thoughts from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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Fragmented first half
Atlanta United’s first half made New England Revolution look far better than they should’ve. The Revs had multiple shots, corners, and overloads which led to numerical advantages in inopportune places for Atlanta. That’s not to say Atlanta didn’t have opportunities, but as the half progressed they became much more frantic.
Of course, this comes off the moment in which Miguel Almiron was quite literally robbed of a goal of the week contender, and after New England subsequently scored off a penalty to make the game 1-0 in favor of the visitors. The frustration definitely crept in and Atlanta spent the final minutes of the half needing to make a change.
Second half change
Coming out of the locker room, Ronny Deila swapped Saba Lobjanidze for Noah Cobb. This effectively switched the team to a back three, with Brooks Lennon able to push higher up on the right. That helped Alexey Miranchuk get on the ball in more open spaces, and the Five Stripes came out on fire. The change was necessary as New England’s wingers were able to overload the wingbacks far too easily in the first half, and Atlanta took full advantage of how wide this change allowed them to play.
Around the 74th minute, Deila also pulled Muyumba, Slisz, and Amador for Fortune, Klich, and Silva. With that left back position not necessarily needing to be as defensively responsible due to the aforementioned change, it allowed Xande Silva much more room to roam. It also brought a sense of energy to the midfield that had been missing at times during this match. That being said, an attack of this caliber can’t be held scoreless, and New England’s lack of desire to play after going up a goal is exactly what teams do at the Benz if Atlanta gets behind the proverbial 8-ball. It can look “better” all day, but if the goals don’t come, none of it matters.
Not good enough
I hate to end this home stand on a negative note, but Atlanta United simply isn’t playing well enough. They’ve consistently found themselves falling far below expectations. A 4-3 miracle win, a 1-1 draw, and 1-0 loss at home in your own stadium aren’t exactly hallmarks of a good team, and the squad is genuinely making it harder on themselves. They now have to go play two tough away matches against Philadelphia Union and Orlando City, and overall…the vibe is just sour at this point. It’s not good enough for the fans, and I’m sure the players would say the same.
After re watching this past match, I’m going to say we won. Of course we didn’t, but reactions should be with a huge caveat. I understand people saying enough with calling out “bad luck” or “bad refereeing”, but our first goal should not have been called offside and there was a clear and obvious missed hand ball penalty we should have been rewarded.
We were the better team and bad officiating lost it for us. Not our performance, tactics, or players.
(Not to mention their 20 called fouls to our 10, and only 1 card for consistent infringement? Then klich gets an immediate yellow on his first challenge after subbing in.) sorry, this match was colored by bad officiating and I’m not going to get caught up in pointing fingers at what we are doing because of this one.
Extremely frustrating but it’s only fair to point out why we lost.
Agree as to bad officiating (the defender was clearly trying to clear the ball that went to Pedro in the buildup for Miggy’s goal). Agree as to a lot of bad luck as well (multiple shots bouncing off the woodwork). Disagree as to the tactics – Miggy needs to start at the 10, Miranchuk needs to either start as an 8, or perhaps better, be a sub #10 coming in at the 60-70 minute mark. Saba and Silva need to start on the wings.
Fair opinion, but had the scoreline ended 2-1 as it should have, but for poor refereeing, the criticism on formations would have been moot.
ATL fans love a scapegoat and it so happens to be Miranchuk. Although He has most chances created and most big chances created on your team. But I do agree that he’s not playing as well as he could be…but… who on your team is? Not trying to be rude but blaming 1 player in the team sport is wild….1 clean sheet in 8 games. Zero chemistry in the team. Mistakes galore. No clear leaders on the team (outside of Guzan). And lastly the tactics from the coaching staff make no sense. Disjointed pressing in the opponents half, then everyone including Lath comeback on defense almost into their own box….No wonder the team can’t keep their shape. (I’m sure yall will disagree but next game keep an eye out on the things I’ve mentioned)
What team do you support? Like actually, I’m just curious. You always say “you guys” and stuff like that
Lokomotiv Moscow is my #1 club (hence my biased opinion on Mira haha) but I watch/follow a lot of footy.
I agree with most of what you’re saying, and upon rewatch I do t think we played that bad. If you told me that Lath would have a clear header on goal that hits the bar, Almiron would get a goal called back in a controversial call, and Lath would have a second goal point blank called back due to offside, and Miranchuck would have a backheel requiring a high quality save…..I would tell you we had some pretty bad luck.
I mean I’m not saying we’re a stalwart team. 4 points in 3 home games is not good, and we now have 10 of our next 14 on the road. We could be in a REALLY BAD position at the end of that run.
Oh, and a hand call that wasn’t called a handball
Oh, and the Thairee (sp?) header too
Wait, Lath at 91 too
I don’t think anyone would disagree that this team is lacking in the “playing together” department. I don’t blame Miranchuk solely, but as a #10 he has to be able to do more than just “key passes”.
I also agree that we don’t need 8 defenders too. Too much bunching up in tight spaces makes you susceptible to improper/missed markings.
We’ve had some solid 10’s in the past and they can make or break a game. Controlling the midfield is crucial to stopping attacks, counter attacking, getting into the attack, and putting less pressure on your back line. That all starts with the 10 and their relationship with the 8. That doesn’t seem to exist when Miranchuk is the #10.
Very puzzled by Miranchuk. I thought he would be more of a DeBruner type player; not the fastest but very good vision to make the killer pass and also score a few. Well, he is not. I also look at Nagbe, who is not fast and doesn’t make a lot of tackles but controls the tempo and orchestrates the midfield or Busquets for that matter ( again not very fast but clear vision and controls tempo) Unfortunately, he hasn’t shown to me he’s capable of any of the above “prototypes”. Maybe a 3-1-2-4 or 4-1-2-3 with somebody playing behind him in front of our defense will unlock him?
I’m sick to my stomach with the loss, but I’d be projectile vomiting if we didn’t have so many shots on goal, banging the post a few times, 2 goals (legitimately) reversed by offsides. Just horrendous bad luck in this match.
Our midfield is toothless and slow. We desperately need a game wrecker like Yannick Bright in the middle.
Every game we play with 10 players because Alexi doesn’t do anything at all. I don’t know what they see in him. When we play at home we look like we’re the visitors team, we don’t press and we give them plenty of space. Last season we really got lucky to be in the play off, this season looks like we will be in last place. Hope everything turns around.
Totally agreed – he gave nothing to the offense – we need a better CAM – i would rather put miggy at the 10 and start #9 on the right bring in Mosquera or Siva and have them attack. #59 does not fix what we are trying to do – when he is coming back he does not tackle or pressure, where as you looks at the others they are hustling. Our holding mids need to do better – get the ball up the field. #8 and Slisz – can play – the coach needs to give them instructions and not let them determine how to play. They donot play with urgency when we are down – until the last 10 mins – that is coaches fault. Lennon played ok, but initially started passing back as usual, i would have liked to have Edwards in with instruction to push up. Sometimes i wish Lennon was more skillful to take on and cut inside.
We’re 10th (in all of MLS) in xG
We’re tied 8th in xGd
It’s not as bad as it looks…however…our back 6 cannot control the ball. They either give it away or hoof it up the field. Perhaps if we’re better able to control the game the results will match the stats.
Idk. I looked at our 2024 xg. Last year we scored 46 actual goals with an xg of 51.4. That’s a ratio of .89. You apply that .89 to our xg so far this season of 12.4 and you get 11, which matches our goals scored so far. So seems to me it just proves our talent level is only good enough to finish at 90% of the xg rate and we are on the same track as last year. Our 2025 “upgrades” haven’t done anything for us.
xG 2024 to 2025 is similar. 1.60 to 1.44.
However, xGd is +0.19 vs -0.11. They’ve moved from 21st to 8th. That suggests that the problem – which I definitely acknowledge – is at least fixable.
I really don’t pay any attention to these stats. I only care about winning percentage; goals in favor vs goals against and position on standings.
Alexi isn’t performing as a #10 regardless of the praise coach keeps giving him. New England could have easily scored three last night so if our central defense and our midfield isn’t working and you can’t catch break up front we have big Issues! MLS officiating is a joke but we can’t fix that. Time to earn the big bucks coach!
My few random thoughts from being at the game:
I’d be a fan of muyumba and fortune, but you’d have to accept that we may have one blunder a game
Was at the game as well and I agree 100% on all points.
Especially #4. Miggy is trying WAY too hard. Over complicating things, calling for the ball while surrounded, trying to take on defenders in dangerous areas when a pass would unlock much more.
Miranchuk is the manifestation of point #2.
He and Miggy are not mixing. Point #3 They ran into each other going for the same ball. There should have been Benny Hill music.
Was heartened to see the substitutions. At least a different formation/personnel was tried.
I have faith that Miggy will calm down and allow the game to come to him. I don’t think Miranchuk is going to get any faster but the team could gel in such a way to take advantage of his strengths (I know, there is ample debate about the existence of said strengths).
I’m here for the ride. The ups and the downs but I won’t be attending another home game until they piece together a couple of wins.
I’m sure my absence will light the appropriate fire.
Agree.
We are dreadful under pressure. I think the underwhelming play of our double pivot so far is a huge factor in that. Those guys should be the relief valve but are often just as poor under pressure as the CBs and FBs. I think this contributes to a number of the other observations you have.
We can’t effectively play the ball through the middle of the field and it’s limiting the ways we can attack, and the frequency. I don’t think anyone is really playing selfishly in the attack, but everyone is pressing a bit hard to make something happen or trying to do too much. Miggy maybe more than anyone. He’s looked like the best player on the field at times in almost every match, but he’s trying to do too much. I appreciate his effort, but he needs to settle into his role as much as anyone.
Deila needs to get this sorted and find a combination that can get results. It’s just eight games, but 2-3-3 with six of those at home isn’t going to cut it for the season. The improvements need to start coming quickly. I am encouraged that he’s mixed and matched some and tried to get some different looks out there with the subs. Still, we’ve yet to play well for an entire match. I guess that’s potentially a positive because we are capable of playing well, but the negative is we haven’t proven able to do it for 90 min.
Time to make an adjustment to the system we play.
3-2-3-2 is what I think we should try.
Guz
Cobb-Gregersen-Abram
Muyamba-Miranchuck
Saba-Almiron-Silva
Lath-Jamal
They need to play more offensive and pressure in the opponents half.
Miranchuck has proven that he is not a CAM. He may be better off as a CDM who can send some long passes. If he doesn’t work out there, then put in Fortune.
Saba needs to pass the ball earlier.
Lennon MUST come out of the lineup and Cobb MUST start at this point.
I see no real reason to keep Alexei out there. If he’s a CAM, he’s the least impactful one I can imagine. And we don’t really need him at CDM given how well stocked we are there.
His quantity of touches for the person that should be guiding our entire attack is just laughable.
I agree 100%.
However, I don’t believe that the coach is brave enough to sit the DP who Lagerwey celebrated as “WE ARE BACK” when he was signed.
The guy was a backup in Atalanta and there is nothing about him that would indicate room to grow and get better.
I saw a stat yesterday at the game that said Miranchuk is tied for third in MLS with 5 “big chances” created this season. I was shocked, because I also think he has not been good enough.
I know there are guys here that keep hoping Miranchuk is the answer but I’ve only seen a few instances where he looked good; some one time little flicks and a couple of good long balls but THAT IS IT. The guy is just way…. too…..sssslow on the ball. Hate say it but we probably have one of the worst attacking midfielders in MLS. Don’t know what to do about him. We are wasting a roster spot we desperately need. I an only imagine how good we would be with Almada in this roster.
Someone could put together a pretty impressive reel of all the mistimed/off-target/too soft/too hard passes he has attempted this season. People may say it’s because we need to gel, and that could be part of it, but a lot of those wayward passes have just been awful for someone who is supposed to be a DP 10.
I’ve thought about switching to this but with Amador instead of Silva and shift Saba up front with LL and Lennon where you have Saba. Amador is way more consistent than Silva and this still let’s us take advantage of the speed of Saba, LL, and Lennon.
Agreed, I think I put out something like this a few weeks ago (among many options):
LL – Saba
Amador – Almiron – Miranchuk – Lennon
Muyumba/Fortune
Abram/Williams – Gregersen – Cobb
Though I’m becoming less convinced by Lennon. I was pretty low on him end of last year, but thought he might be a good fit for the wide right to compliment Almiron drifting in. If Almiron doesn’t play RW though, Lennon doesn’t make as much sense. Maybe the 3-4-2-1 from the second half is the right call, but maybe swapping out Lennon for Saba?
Almiron – LL – Miranchuk
Amador – Muyumba/Fortune – Klich/Slisz – Saba/Lennon?
Abram/Williams – Gregersen – Cobb
Lard knows how waste 50 million
So much for his criteria of proven “winners” in multiple leagues lol
Same for the coach a proven winner the tactical change was great to see maybe he needs to start Jay and sit slits because he was a give away machine along with miggy
Personally, I am extremely disappointed with Delia so far. I keep looking at several other teams with a first year coach (and lesser rosters) having much better starts and keep wondering how is that possible? Well, from what I see, they play as a team, press more, move the ball faster, and play very aggressive defending. We don’t.
Besides the ref making questionable calls, the biggest issue I saw today while at the game were stupid easy and careless giveaways. We still struggle to control and unpredictably move the ball. Every pass I could have called before it happened. Every build up was textbook. And then only to see us pass a ball right at a defender instead of our team was just icing.
Also, how was Carles Gil’s penalty kick allowed? He clearly stopped his full momentum on his buildup.
I’m split. On one hand, yes our team seems to struggle to find form. But also, we had 4 potential goals that either didn’t count because of questionable officiating or unlucky almost bouncing off the framework, and plenty that tested the keeper. We had many more opportunities that looked close and were one pass away. While yes NE had multiple shots on target, I didn’t see any looked like they really tested Brad. Maybe one. And their only goal was on a soft penalty. We also saw definite tactical shifts, that worked. Deila switched at halftime to a 3-4-2-1 with Almiron and Miranchuk playing like dual 10s/inside forwards, allowing them both to play in a way played to their strengths. That and the extra body back immediately thwarted NE’s high press. We had multiple shots and a near goal within the first minute back. Game state just made it difficult to get a goal against what quickly turned into a 5 at the back double decker bus.
This is objectively better than what we had with Pineda. I remember multiple games where we got maybe two shots the entire game, and really didn’t come anywhere close to chances in the box. We’re getting those now. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect or anywhere close to it, but we’re short just a little bit of cohesiveness. That’s what makes it frustrating, that we should be winning these games, we just aren’t.
Maybe the biggest thing I’m missing compared to the early years, other than a level of cohesiveness that still isn’t quite there, is that those teams would grit themselves to wins even when things weren’t quite working out. This team hasn’t figured out that extra gear to make wins happen even when things aren’t flowing as well as they could.
Idk, I think this team did exactly that at the end of last year, and in the comeback a couple weeks ago.
We’ve definitely had teams that lacked grit/perseverence before, but I don’t think this is one of them.
I’m with you 100%.
I agree with this, but I think the problem is the pattern. If you look at this game with no context, you would generally be fine (other than considering the position of NE). We generated multiple good chances and luck didn’t go our way. It happens. But the fact that we are now at 2 wins in 8 speaks to a more systemic issue.
We don’t press the opponent enough. When we lose the ball, opponent teams seem to keep possession for long stretches of time, which I feel causes inconsistencies in our attack. We very seldom force a turnover on the opponent’s side.
I’m not as down on him as others are, but I’ll be the first to say a large part of that is Miranchuk. He’s not fast enough to help in a high press, so that there’s always an outlet.
Just for sake of conversation, how do you think this roster compares to the Pineda era rosters?
I feel like this roster would be better. Im not sure Pineda would have us in the top 3, but I certainly havent seen anything yet to suggest Deila is an upgrade.
Though to be fair, I really cant help but wonder if the whole thing rolls all the way up to Blank.
Almada and giako were ballers, what else changed? (Outside of salary goggles) Gonzalo is currently sitting on 3 wins in 15 matches with Atlas. I don’t see your trolling point. Deila is struggling to make these pieces fit as many managers would in their first quarter season might, but his tactical awareness and strategy is far better apparent and backed by the underlining numbers of xg and chances created, yeah? the comparison is light years apart, Jesus Christ, do watch the same games as we do? This is so much more entertaining than Pineda ball and I’m not even a huge Deila supporter. Jfc!
As I’ve advocated for Pineda, at the very least give him the leash as the previous manager, no more – no less. My runway will be the end of this season. So far, there is much more to like than to not – results not withstanding.
Sorry bruv, Pineda sucked (still sucks) and probably always will. He is a bad manager, point blank, shouldn’t be a head coach for anyone. Don’t know why this is a topic of debate. That was a tragic 3 years wasted on this club due to Carlos’s hire / scapegoat, and we should’ve cut bait 2 years earlier in hindsight.
Geeze. Wasnt trying to argue whether Pineda was good or bad.
A foundational element of the question I posed was an assumption I hold (that could be very wrong) that this team is much more talented than the teams Pineda had to work with.
So yeah, if folks dont agree with that assumption, my thought exercise doesnt hold water.
Though to be fair, can we honestly say this isnt a deeper more balanced roster after the incomings we’ve had? If not, then the front office marketing folks sure need a raise. I’ll be curious to see where we fall in terms of the next MLS salary guide.
My reaction was as much to your earlier posts than this one. #pinedaIN? Hard to know when to take it seriously or not, ya know?
Interesting question. Compared to early 2024 Pineda, it’s just swapping out GG, Almada, and Wiley, and McCarty for LL, Almiron, Amador, and Klich, and adding Miranchuk? So I’d say probably equal or better. Late 2023 also includes swapping out Rossetto and Miles for Slisz and Gregersen, and adding Williams. I’d say the midfield and offense have definitely improved, though we still need a destroyer 6 and we could use a more press-resistant CM. I have yet to be convinced by Gregersen, so even though our defense was pretty bad outside of Miles (and he wasn’t doing that well in 2023), I’m not sure that it’s any better, maybe even worse.
I’m not sure yet that Deila is definitely an upgrade over Pineda. I really liked late 2023 Pineda. I think the biggest problem with Pineda was that everything relied on Almada to have a good day, so when Almada was shut down, *everything* shut down. Maybe that’s on the roster around him, maybe not. The other problem with Pineda was that he overcorrected in the offseason to prioritize safe possession to try to stop leaking goals, and couldn’t figure out how to make adjustments mid-game.
I think what I would say is that Pineda has performed better than this, but he’s also performed a lot worse than this. Right now, despite not doing well in the results or actual goal tallies, our performances are objectively better than the worst days of Pineda. So if Deila’s current performance is the floor, then it’s objectively better. If this is the best he can do though, then yeah Pineda was better. I think it’s too early to say which it is, though I think his history indicates he can do better than this.
The people wanting Rob back though are objectively wrong. Guy was a feel good coach who got the team fired up emotionally, helped the team internalize the underdog mentality, and did the best with what he had, but tactically was objectively worse than both Deila and Pineda. He only won a couple big games because of instilling that underdog mentality and happening to have a roster able to do the one weakness of Miami, and lost everything else.
Welp… I think we’ve all been patient. Besides the some of the worst officiating I’ve ever seen (which I do believe influenced the outcome of this game), I am now confident in saying “WTH is wrong with our team”? We can’t seem to get a W for anything. This is the worst start to a season I’ve ever seen, and it’s absolutely maddening to have this much talent (or this much salaried players) only to see this result game after game. I think our city is cursed.
According to Conti and Doug, this is the worst start in team history.
I always think every new season “there’s nowhere to go but up” and then I find out there’s another level of down I didn’t know about before. 2025 is another level of down I didn’t know about before.
Also, I think I’m about done with Deila. It’s clear he doesn’t know what to do with this group at this point and even clearer that he’s going to be a “die by the system” type of manager considering he refuses to even experiment with the structure of the front 4 (who are now held goalless in 3 of 8 matches, 4 if you consider last week was only not goalless because of a PK).
We traded Rob for Norwegian Pineda ball. But Five Stripe Final tells me this Underlying Numbers guy is really good, so maybe we should hire him
This is what the “eye test” tells me too.
Another crapfest. Wait……Garth said “we are back BABY!”
I’m just mad. That is all.
Miggy may be a club icon but the dollars aren’t translating. Far to many bad passes/decisions by #10, the unallowed golazo withstanding.
We do not press well. NE pressed much better than we did.
From section 246, it looked like officiating f’ed us over… dare I say, again and then, again.
I was listening to the radio call, and I thought Jason Longshore was going to have a stroke on-air. He was livid about the officiating.
Officiating does not matter. It is always bad. Heck, people complain about Premier League refs. This argument does not hold water any more.
To be somewhat fair to Miggy, it looked like he had at least two defenders on him, if not more, every time he touched the ball.
Tell that to Almada
Let’s not pretend Almada didn’t also struggle with multiple defenders on him. I say this while owning an Almada jersey – kid is great, but he’d also struggle in similar situations.
Miggy had a bad game, but complaining about him when Miranchuk is there is crazy to me. At least Miggy has some assists and contributions over the past games. Miranchuk has had one goal.
Dear Atlantistas.
Coach, coach, coach.
Sincerely Yours,
Me
All I ever see from you is Coach, Coach, Coach. We have no control over the coach. Send an email to Blank or Garth.
Realest thing I’ve ever seen
Beginning to agree but we are just gonna have to suffer for another season or something magical happens and things turn around. We’ll find out more in the next two matches.
MLS officiating strikes again. The offside and pk calls were hot garbage.
With that said, we look awful. We have too much talent to lose to teams like this. The team is not meshing together and we need to make a change.
Deila is unimpressive and whatever he is doing in practice is not working in actual games. He is now the proud owner of the worst ever season start in ATL history. Questions are beginning to be asked as to him.
Talent this team may have but zero chemistry, offensive imagination or soccer IQ.
This team stinks, but that is par for the course the past 5 years. Such underachievers. I can’t believe the fans still show up (albeit in dwindling numbers). The only reason I go to games anymore is to see the supporters group. We’ve barely started the season and we already stink
#PinedaIN
#ValentinoIN
#DeilaOUT
I certainly fail to see any quality thus far in Deila that suggests he’s the “answer”. He trots out the exact same line-up and formation every week despite it being overwhelmingly obvious that the Alexei and Miggy pairing is not working.
Gonna have to disagree. He has tried lots of things. I feel like he and Miggy dont see eye to eye. Ronny has tried him on both wings but he is dead set on coming inside and then we have no shape/width until a fb commits all the way up field. He has tried miggy at the straight 10 too and i agree with coach that the league has changed and miggy is not technical enough to be a 10 any more. Ronny even sat alexey and let almiron have the run of it. . Dont know if you remember tata saying we had become a 1 trick pony right before he left…seems like other teams are able to figure us out. His next move is probably to sit almiron and see how alexey does on his own. I feel like ronny even gave in on the system thing and went 3 cb’s this game which i actually liked but am worried we dont have the cb’s to really commit to that long term. I could maybe see a 4-3-2-1 working with our group but would run miggy and LL to death every game subbing them out all the time and them still would probably have the issue of lennon getting the most touches/passes on the team which is NOT the way to go.
I think there’s about a 0.1% chance he sits Miggy, but I’d love it if he did