After months away playing in other stadiums and watching the World Cup here in Atlanta, the Five Stripes finally made their return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday night. Amid a variety of new transfer rumors and signings, Tata Martino’s men needed to return home and give Atlanta United fans a reason to believe in -waves hands wildly- something. The fact that the Red Bulls have historically possessed an oversized thorn they like to shove in Atlanta’s side didn’t help, but the squad had to show some life being back in front of their home fans. 90 minutes later, they found their first Major League Soccer win in literal months. Here are the final whistle thoughts from the Benz!
A boost at home?
During a season where essentially nothing has gone according to plan, one could only hope that a return to the building which formerly acted as Atlanta United’s fortress would act as a defibrillator for the ailing squad. It certainly didn’t start that way, as Red Bull sliced through the defense inside Atlanta’s own box like butter, with Emil Forsberg sliding home a fairly simple one from about 10 yards out. He almost had a second, identical one minutes later, which was thankfully parried out by Lucas Hoyos, but the overall quality by Atlanta United was just poor throughout the first half.
But wait….
….
…there’s more.
The Five Stripes came to life in the second half, with Tristan Muyumba and Fafa Picault turning the deficit around. There were no wholesale adjustments in the second half by Tata Martino, but it seemed like the midfield found each other, which helped to open up the attack and calm down the Red Bulls. Also, the individual efforts, the first touches and minor fundamental things by Atlanta players improved drastically.
The connection to the front
No signing up top will fix this team, because Atlanta United still has a massive need for someone in the midfield who can control the game. Yes, playing against a team that presses can cause chaos and exacerbate problems that already exist, but Atlanta’s attempts to move the ball forward seemed to be more of the “hope and pray” variety than any true identity.
It wasn’t until Atlanta started taking advantage of their width, and the midfielders playing more direct, that they looked truly dangerous. Tristan Muyumba struggled through the majority of the game to be the 8 Atlanta needed; he looked goal dangerous a few times but didn’t settle in to the positioning very well. That gradually improved, as he and Adrian Gill began to play more cohesively with Cooper Sanchez, and it paid off midway through the second half as Muyumba hit another banger to equalize 1-1.
Atlanta United won?
Atlanta United won. A foe has been vanquished. Three points have been obtained. Is this what it feels like? It feels good. Do it again.
And that’s that, y’all let us know down below what you thought of the match!
Gill was solid for 90 minutes. We need to see more of him
Good game for Hoyos…can’t believe I’m saying that. Gill looked pretty good too.