What we learned after Atlanta United’s preseason win over Lexington SC

So… that was surprisingly fun.

The positive preseason vibes only improved after Atlanta United’s comprehensive 4-0 win over Lexington SC on Friday in the first of four friendlies ahead of the 2026 MLS season.

It wasn’t just about the lopsided scoreline. The team displayed clear ideas, solid connections among the players, and — personally, a very important thing here — I had fun watching them play.

While this was only the team’s first preseason friendly and we probably shouldn’t read too much into it, there are a few things that we can take away from this match. Here are some that stood out to me:

Fluid formation

The Five Stripes’ shape was one of the most intriguing aspects of this game. On paper, it was a 4-3-3 with Alexey Miranchuk as the lone No. 9 flanked by Luke Brennan on the left and Miguel Almiron on the right. Steven Alzate and Tristan Muyumba were the center midfield pairing in front of Tomas Jacob in a single pivot. The backline was fairly straightforward, with Juan Berrocal and Enea Mihaj in a center back pairing flanked by Pedro Amador and Ronald Hernandez. It basically looked like this:

When the team presses, it mostly conserves this shape…

Miranchuk, the No. 9, leads the high press. He goes high, chasing the opposing goalkeeper and the center backs when they have the ball. Brennan and Almiron, the wide players, cover the opposition fullbacks. Meanwhile, the center midfielders, in this case Alzate and Muyumba, push forward to cover their counterparts.

By doing this, Atlanta is effectively able to strangle the opposition, giving them little time to decide and cutting off their escape. In fewer words, it’s an organized press.

Things get a bit funkier when in possession…

The fullbacks go all the way up. Hernandez and Brennan provide the width while Amador and Almiron cut inside into their respective half spaces. From here, the attack is very versatile. Amador and Almiron can find Miranchuk making a diagonal run inside the box. Miranchuk can drop back and play Amador or Almiron in when they burst forward, or they can take the attack out wide to Brennan or Hernandez, who can then deliver a cross.

This worked beautifully during the match, as the front five displayed some eye-opening combinations in the attacking third.

Another detail in the buildup is that Jacob would drop back to form a back three with the two center backs. This helped provide more coverage on the backline while the fullbacks pushed forward.

Pedro Amador is back (maybe)

I was particularly impressed by how well Pedro Amador played in the left half-space. This allowed him to play through balls in behind or drift a little wider for a cross.

The Portuguese left back’s role intrigued me so much that I asked Tata Martino about it after the match.

“Part of the work these past two weeks has been making sure the boys make good decisions about who they link up with,” Martino replied. “So, on one side, you had Miguel, who tends to come inside more, so we needed Ronald [Hernandez] to overlap. On the other side, since Luke [Brennan] plays wider, we needed Pedro to come inside more, and he found some good balls there.”

I really liked watching Amador in that role, but there’s some context here that raises some more questions.

First of all, the club has just signed left back Elías Báez from San Lorenzo, a player who appears to be hand-picked by Martino to be an important member of the squad. It’s difficult to imagine the club would invest a reported $3 million fee, an international slot, and a U22 slot in this signing just for the player to warm the bench. If Báez starts, what happens with Amador? Can he, a fullback with stronger defensive qualities, have a similar offensive output and fulfill this role the way Amador has so far?

Then there’s another wrinkle to consider…

How does this change with Latte Lath?

The Five Stripes’ club record signing, Emmanuel Latte Lath, missed this match due to a hip injury, which prompted Tata Martino to deploy Miranchuk as a center forward. This notable absence raised an important question: how does Latte Lath slot into the team we saw work well in this game?

“Miguel probably would have played on the left and Miranchuk on the right,” Martino answered during his postgame presser when asked about where the Ivorian international would have played.

Full disclosure — I doubt he’s referring to Miggy and Miranchuk playing as true wingers. It’s more likely that he sees them operating in the half spaces as inside forwards, since that will keep both of them in central areas where they can have the most influence.

Something like this out of possession:

That shifts to this when they have the ball:

Of course, it remains to be seen how Latte Lath looks in this sort of system, but if the team can spring counterattacks quickly as it did in this game, the Ivorian striker should feast thanks to his pace.

Lucas Hoyos is the No. 1, and for good reason

Unsurprisingly, many fans were not overly thrilled to see that the young goalkeeper who impressed toward the tail end of last season did not play with the first group in this game. Instead, Martino selected Argentinian veteran Lucas Hoyos, who has been met with some skepticism due to his age (36) and injury history.

Immediately, what jumped out to me was how commanding and communicative he is. He was constantly barking orders to his defenders: everyone out of the box! Cover the near post! Push up!

I could always hear him throughout that first half, which reminded me of Brad Guzan.

He certainly has the leadership aspect down, but you need much more than that as a goalkeeper. Although his shot-stopping wasn’t truly tested in this match, what caught my attention was his distribution.

He was able to reliably ping balls over to the flanks…

… even under pressure!

Then he played this absolute beauty of a ball to kickstart a quick counter.

All this to say that I’m starting to understand which attributes Tata was talking about when explaining why Hoyos is a good fit. I’m sure we’ll get a better look at his ability to keep the ball out of the net when the team faces MLS opponents in Texas, but for now, Hoyos certainly looks the part between the posts.

The new guys look good

We’ve already discussed Hoyos, but there were a few other new additions who featured in this friendly.

Tomás Jacob featured as a defensive midfielder with the first group of players. He covered a good bit of ground and closed down opponents on the ball quickly. His role also required a careful reading of the game to know when he had to drop back in between the center backs during build-up, when he had to shift to either flank for support, and when he had to step up and quickly press opponents.

We saw a couple more new faces in the second half as the team rolled out a completely new XI.

I liked what I saw from Adrian Gill, a young midfielder who came up through FC Barcelona’s academy before joining the Five Stripes this year. You can definitely see some of that La Masía philosophy in the way he makes quick decisions and is comfortable in tight spaces.

First-round draft pick Enzo Dovlo also looked solid, attacking with pace and making smart runs off the ball.

I was pleased overall with what I saw from the new signings and how they’re integrating. It’s also clear that there is an overall better understanding of organized tactics within the squad. For the first time in a long time, there seems to be a clear direction that this team is heading in, which should give 17s at least a bit more optimism as we approach opening day.

What did you think of the match? Let me know in the comments!