Atlanta United Vs New England Revolution: More important than first glance

Atlanta United head into Gillette Stadium to face the New England Revolution. The Week 7 matchup proves to be much more important than what meets the eye.

Atlanta United heads into their fifth regular season match of the 2019 Major League Soccer season against the New England Revolution in Week 7, and while the defending champions find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference looking for their first win, the trip to Boston seems much more important than initially expected.

The Five Stripes were plagued with one of the most intense schedules possible to begin the Frank de Boer era in Atlanta, with trips to Mexico and Costa Rica midweek while also starting the MLS title defense on weekends.

But the scheduling chaos has ceased for Atlanta as they were given a two-week break between their draw against the Philadelphia Union and their 2-0 loss to the Columbus Crew in horrendous conditions. And on top of that, the champions get another two weeks off before they head to Massachusetts to face off against another club who sit below the playoff line.

Before the season began, the matchup against New England seemed like an automatic three points for the Five Stripes, whether on the road or at home. With the signing of South American star Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez and presumed continuation of Josef Martinez as the best goalscorer in the league, the team seemed impenetrable. But add a new manager with a new style to the scheduling troubles, and the champions have been anything but impenetrable and are still looking for their first win of 2019.

The Five Stripe faithful headed into the match against the Columbus Crew with eager expectations. Finally having some time to rest and train seemed like the perfect recipe for the club to pick themselves up and play the dominant style of soccer so many had grown accustomed to. But Mother Nature intervened. The last thing fans saw was dominant soccer, if you even want to call it soccer at all. Atlanta and the Crew faced off in some of the worst conditions imaginable. But even after a rain delay, the match continued and the Crew grabbed all three points at home.

More from MLS Multiplex

• Javier Milei Elected in Argentina: Potential Impacts on MLS and Signings of Argentine Players
• Orlando City and New York City FC in the Battle for Matías Arezo; Grêmio Enters Negotiations! Who Will Come Out on Top?
• USA, Honduras, Panama, and Canada Close in on a Spot in the 2024 Copa America
• De Gea Turns Down Al-Nassr’s Lucrative Offer: Speculation Points to Possible Reunion with Messi at Inter Miami
• Messi’s Magnetic Impact in the United States

And while fans can still blame the conditions, soccer is a results-oriented business, and those three points lost are the exact same, whether it was in a monsoon or the perfect indoor stadium setting of Mercedes Benz.

Add that onto the already underwhelming start, and the matchup against the Revolution seems a lot more important than what many expected at the start of the season.

The Five Stripes are once again coming off a lot of rest and time on the training ground, which should, in theory, benefit the visitors. And we can only assume that conditions will be better than they were in Ohio. But the fact remains that Atlanta has yet to take home all three points from a match. Practice and theory are very different.

It is early in the season and, with the expanded playoffs, Atlanta can afford to have a little backslide and still hoist the MLS Cup for the second-straight year. But as the team sits on the bottom of the Eastern Conference, a Week 7 matchup against the New England Revolution seems a lot more important than expected.