3 keys to success vs. D.C. United
Aside from scoring more goals than them.
Sam is gone, y’all. Joe is gone too. It’s just me here now. Don’t unsubscribe.
Don’t worry, it’s just for this weekend. Both have scheduling conflicts, coincidentally, so it’s just me here with no life to entertain you.
Normally it would be a free weekend and everyone could go about their merry way. But this weird thing happened last Saturday. Atlanta United decided to learn how to play soccer and actually give us reason for hope? What the hell?
Normally Sam does a great job here of previewing what to expect from the opponent. I am not Sam. I have absolutely no idea how good or bad D.C. United is this season. I know they were atrocious last season but seemingly have improved since bringing in a new manager and overturning their roster. So far this season, they’ve won twice and lost twice, so they’re probably about middle of the pack. Which seems like a perfect stepping stone for Tata Martino’s side to see exactly how much they’ve improved.
Since this won’t be a very insightful look at D.C., I’m going to focus on what I do know, Atlanta United. Here are three keys to success for the Five Stripes to hopefully start a winning streak.
Obligatory meme:
Beat the Press
While dominating the Union on Saturday was extremely fun to watch and a much-needed breath of fresh air around these parts, it’s hard to fully believe it was anything more than a mediocre team getting the better of a very, very bad team. That’s exactly what the Union are this season, it seems.
One of the big reasons Atlanta had so much success against Philly was their inability to get consistent pressure against Tata’s buildup tactics. Whereas in the first three matches of the season, the 4-3-3 setup struggled mightily to play out of intense high pressure, often resorting to long ball tactics that failed miserably. The Union’s inability to close down Atlanta’s space, allowed for them to get off their attacking ideas and execute some of the most beautiful soccer we’ve seen around here in years.
The huge question now is, can Atlanta replicate that type of soccer against teams who aren’t really bad at pressing. Is D.C. a team that will prove if they can or not? Frankly, I don’t know. But that is the big question that must be answered, not only in this match, but as the season progresses. If this team can find time and space to execute Tata’s vision, we’ll see a lot more exciting soccer like we did last weekend. If not, it’ll be more like the first three miserable outings.
Crazy 8’s
If I was a betting man, I’d put the house on there being no changes to Atlanta’s starting lineup on Saturday. Tata loves to keep things consistent and coming off the best performance we’ve seen in ages, it would take something wild for him to change it up now.
A huge area of the field to keep an eye on is Atlanta’s midfield, specifically their dual center midfield pairing of Matias Galarza and Cooper Sanchez. We’ve already spotlighted Sanchez’s breakout performance against Philly. Galarza also shined on the left side of the formation as his relationship with Miggy and Elias Baez is already flourishing.
These two players are vital to Atlanta’s gameplan and buildup play. If they can continue to find dangerous spaces on the field to link the back line to the attacking DP's good things will continue to happen.
Both players have added a much-needed boost of energy and athleticism to the midfield that has sorely been missing. Whether it’s Galarza’s non-stop running off-the-ball and intricate combination play or Sanchez’s ability to break lines with his passing or pressure the opposition to force turnovers in dangerous spots, this midfield duo has brought some dynamism to the lineup. If they can continue having a positive influence on the team like they did on Saturday, the sky is the limit for what this team can become.
Clear Eyes, Fullbacks, Can’t Lose
For me, the biggest key to all of this working well and continuing to produce results like we saw against the Union is Atlanta’s two fullbacks. Defensively, both are fine. They aren’t going to win any awards for their defensive abilities, but they do the job. Where they really impact the team is their ability to add width and combine with players around them.
If you go back and watch they first three matches of the season (I don’t recommend this), the fullbacks offered little-to-nothing going forward. Baez finally started getting forward in the home opener and earned an assist, but other than that, it really felt like both players were playing with shackles on with a defense-first mindset.
That seemed to change against Philly as both players were heavily involved in the buildup play and bombed forward in chance they could. When they get forward and make the opposing team worry about them, it opens a ton of room in the half spaces for Miggy and Alexey to operate in. Neither player is a true winger that can win one-v-one battles on the flanks to create for the team. They need that supporting help to open up space to operate in and that’s exactly what having dynamic fullbacks does.
If Baez and Jacob are getting involved in the buildup and making dangerous, overlapping runs, good things are going to happen. If they are stagnant and unable to connect passes with the midfield or their wingers, it will probably a struggle.