Remember when Atlanta United didn’t lose at home that often? It’s actually true.
First off, I was inspired to write this by Matt Doyle, whose piece on Wednesday noted that home-field advantage isn’t as quite as pronounced in MLS than it was in the past due to a) larger teams using their resources to build stronger and more dominant teams that can win anywhere — thanks in part to the relatively recent roster rule updates — and b) the increase in charter flights league-wide as mandated by the CBA. That’s led to home teams winning at about a 40% clip, where it used to be near 50%. Despite that, home-field advantage is still more noticeable in MLS than it is in other leagues.
But that downturn I mentioned above hasn’t quite materialized so far in 2026. Doyle continues:
So we have a handle on all this, right? We all understand what direction everything’s gone, and where it’s still headed? MLS still has a strong home field advantage, relatively speaking, but not as strong as it used to be. Write it in pen.
Now erase it, because… what the actual f*ck happened here? The 2026 season is two weeks old and home teams have gone 21W-5D-4L (and two of those four losses belong to one team – sorry Orlando fans). I just checked and that is the most pronounced home field advantage we’ve ever seen to start a season.
Then I checked further and, look, I simply have no explanation for this. I think it’s a blip – home teams started 17-3-1, and things seemed to normalize by the time the 8:30 games hit this past Saturday – but I am absolutely not about to stake my life on that.
That 17-3-1 record, by the way… I used what tools I could to dig through the history books in search of 21-game stretches that could match it in terms of home field dominance and came up with nothing. Nothing! Thus, after years of decline, the beginning of this 2026 season marked the most dominant stretch for home teams in MLS history. Just completely out of nowhere.
For an Atlanta United team that looked somewhat competent against FC Cincinnati before an absolute stinker against the San Jose Earthquakes, the fact that its next four matches (and six of its next seven) are at Mercedes-Benz Stadium should be music to fans’ ears based on what Doyle’s written. So maybe the season isn’t over yet?
I went back and took a look at Atlanta United’s home record over their first nine seasons. If you’ll recall, the Benz was nearly impenetrable during its first three years, with Atlanta taking 96 of a possible 129 points at the venue between the time it opened in 2017 and the first home match of the 2020 season. After COVID, it’s not quite been the same.
| 2017 | 11-3-3 (36 points) – 6-2-1 at Bobby Dodd (19 points); 5-1-2 at MBS (17 points) |
| 2018 | 11-2-4 (37 points) |
| 2019 | 12-2-3 (39 points) |
| 2020 | 4-4-2 (14 points) – final nine matches were closed-door |
| 2021 | 9-3-5 (32 points) |
| 2022 | 8-4-5 (29 points) |
| 2023 | 10-3-4 (34 points) |
| 2024 | 6-7-4 (22 points) |
| 2025 | 4-5-8 (20 points) |
Let’s dig a little deeper. Atlanta missed the playoffs in 2022, the first time it missed the postseason in a traditional 34-match season. Here are the Eastern Conference standings from that season. Notice anything?
The difference between Atlanta United making the playoffs in 2022 and missing them altogether was two points. In other words, one more win would have put them through. (Margins in this league are airtight sometimes.)
To further illustrate how important winning home games is in MLS, I looked back at the league standings from 2021 to 2025. Only seven teams in that time span won 10 games at home only to miss the playoffs:
- 2021 Columbus Crew (10 home wins, nine away losses)
- 2021 D.C. United (11 home wins, 10 away losses)
- 2022 Vancouver Whitecaps and Colorado Rapids (10 home wins, 11 away losses)
- CF Montréal in 2023 (10 home wins, 13 away losses)
- FC Dallas in 2024 (10 wins at home and away)
- 2025 New York Red Bulls (10 home wins, 11 away losses)
There are, of course, outliers. In 2025, five playoff teams had seven or fewer home wins. One of them was San Diego FC, which won an MLS regular-season record 12 games away from home despite seven wins at Snapdragon Stadium. The last team to make the playoffs with fewer than six home wins was the 2004 San Jose Earthquakes, with five.
The moral of the story? Win your home games. Win your away games, too, but taking care of business on your own turf is usually your ticket to the playoffs.
Can Atlanta United recapture that home mojo they enjoyed during their first few years in the league? Their next four games, and six of the next seven, are at the Benz, starting with Real Salt Lake on Saturday. Yes, the first two games haven’t gone well. But maybe all 2026 Atlanta United needs is a little home cooking.
Or, at least, that’s the hope.
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Hopefully, the addition of Miranchuk into the starting lineup injects some life into the offense? I’m not sure just playing at MBS is going to fix the issues we saw in the first two games. But maybe another week to train and review mistakes form another game address some of those. We need to play faster, and in short order. With so many home games in the immediate future, AUFC needs to start clicking sooner rather than later.
I too have not been the same since COVID. Is this the year I get back on track? I did score a goal in my 5v5 adult league last night. Hopefully a rising tide lifts all boats
Also I have to say, and it somewhat pains me to do so, the NYRBs are a fun team to watch right now. 3 teenagers and Michael Bradley as coach, winning games. Strange times.
I went once last year (the opener) and we won. Very sad that I witnessed a large percentage our our wins last season in one visit.I will grace MBS again this Saturday for hopefully one of many (double digits !? ) wins we will have this season
Would help if we could scire
If you want to win at home, or maybe any stadium, you have to start scoring, I agree. From there, you have to play smart football. So far, we’ve done neither.
I hear the only way to win is to outscore your opponent.
Man; 17-19 were fun. I mean F-U-N!!!!!
Well 17 & 18 certainly were, but until the players revolted against de Boer and forced a change, 19 was difficult.
That said, 19 was more fun than 24 to now. I think since then the only year that’s really come close has been 23.
no argument there!
One really depressing fact displayed on full here is that, although it’s not a clean/straight line, we aren’t crazy: we are basically getting worse every year.
simple answer – no
Agreed. The answer for most fans is NO. Please prove us wrong with boatload of home wins.