Atlanta United: Analyzing their seven losses from the 2018 season
By Josh Bouland
May 20 vs New York Red Bulls
This is another game that falls into the “weird match” category. There was a red card, five (kind of) goals, a controversial VAR call, and a stoppage of ten minutes for an injured player. Red Bulls dominated Atlanta in the second half, and some awful momentum swings really took the game away from Atlanta.
How New York Red Bulls Won: Daniel Royer converted from the spot in the first half to draw level with Atlanta, while Bradley Wright-Phillips scored a brace in the second half in a matter of minutes. Red Bulls didn’t actually deploy their signature press, but they took advantage of the opportunities presented and won anyway.
What went wrong: Josef Martinez’s goal (Atlanta’s second) was taken away after a VAR decision. Instead of Atlanta leading 2-0, the score remained 1-0. After Royer’s penalty, the hosts went into halftime level at 1-1. That two goal swing was too much to overcome and the team let their frustrations get the best of them. Leandro Gonzalez-Pirez was booked, forcing a suspension for the following week. Greg Garza saw a straight red after a studs up tackle that also injured his shoulder, causing him to miss six months of action.
The bright spot: Ezequiel Barco scored what was his third of four goals on the season and his third in four games. It looked like the young Argentine was really heating up. After such a disappointing result, it was nice to see the most expensive incoming transfer signing in MLS history producing for the team.
The takeaway: Atlanta looked immature on the pitch and let a superior team bully them all night. At the time it felt like one of the worst losses the team suffered. Even worse, it was the second home loss of the early season and as a result, the club failed to win at home in the month of May.