Atlanta United FC defeated Minnesota United FC 6-1 in an “expansion derby” in snowy Minneapolis on Sunday. What were the three biggest takeaways from the game?
In conditions that many thought would favor Minnesota, Tata Martino led his team, loaded with South American players, to a staggering 6-1 victory over the Loons.
Atlanta United scored fast and often, taking a 3-0 lead after 27 minutes. Minnesota would notch their only goal on a penalty kick by Kevin Molino just before halftime. The Five Stripes of Atlanta added another three goals in the second half to close out their first win in Major League Soccer. Here are the three biggest takeaways from this game:
Match highlights courtesy of atlutd.com
1. Atlanta’s Attack is REALLY fast, and REALLY good!
One of the major concerns many analysts had coming into the season about Atlanta was how quickly they would be able to develop the necessary team chemistry to compete at a high level. On Sunday, their passing precision and timing showed that this concern is quickly evaporating.
Two of Atlanta’s Designated Players, Josef Martinez and Miguel Almirón, were responsible for 5 of their 6 goals, including the teams first ever hat trick from Martinez. Add to that tandem the likes of Yamil Asad and Tito Villalba outside, and Atlanta’s attack looks like they will score a ton of goals this year.
2. Minnesota’s defense is, well, not good.
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In their first two games, Minnesota United has given up 11 goals. The Loons’ back line, particularly Jermaine Taylor and Vadim Demidov, have looked absolutely helpless against both Portland and Atlanta.
In addition to the back line issues, starting GK John Alvbåge was carted off the field in the final moments of the game after a nasty collision between himself and several other players.
If Minnesota hopes to be competitive in the league in any way this year, they need to be scouring the globe for some help for their defense. They may even need to consider using one of their three open Designated Player slots to bring in a big name man to lead that back line.
3. Atlanta’s defense is pretty good, but they will give up some goals this year.
Atlanta United made their biggest splashes in assembling this team by bringing in some fantastic attacking pieces. For most of the offseason, many wondered who would play on defense and how formidable they would be.
Even to start the season, many wondered if Tata Martino’s aim was to simply score more goals than their opponents in a shootout for most matches. But, to many people’s surprise, the backline has looked solid. Alec Kann has even shown that he is a fine placeholder until Brad Guzan’s arrival this summer.
All of that aside, this team will get scored on this year. They will probably get scored on a good bit. But that has less to do with personnel and more to do with tactics.
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Tata likes to see his outside backs press high up the field. And in these first two games, Greg Garza and Tyrone Mears have really excelled in this area. In fact, each of them has an assist on their stat sheet. But turnovers will happen, and when they do, having half of your back line so far up the field will result in scoring for the opposition. Atlanta just has to fight hard to stay ahead when this happens.