Atlanta United Vs Motagua: 3 things we learned – A positive result
By Josh Bouland
2. Josef already scoring
It only took one game for Josef Martinez to get on the scoresheet in 2020. At this point, it should come as no surprise, but Martinez has a tendency to not score in opening games. In opening games for Atlanta across all competitions, Martinez was goalless before Tuesday night. That’s a total of six opening matches in MLS league play, the U.S. Open Cup, and the CCL without a goal.
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It is not all that surprising Martinez found the back of the net. After all, the Venezuelan international now has 89 goals across all competitions in just 101 appearances for the club. He should be passing the century mark sooner rather than later, and there was no better time to continue marching towards that mark than on Tuesday night when the team needed it most.
But perhaps the best part of Martinez’s goal was his link up play with Gonzalo ‘Pity’ Martinez. Because Pity’s adjustment to de Boer’s tactics, the new league, and the intense match congestion to start the season took so long, there weren’t many great moments between these players in 2019. Tuesday night’s performance from both players is ideally an indication of what’s to come for these players in 2020.
Martinez won’t stop scoring anytime soon, and if he has a new weapon at his disposal in the form of Pity Martinez, 2020 could be yet another wonderfully prolific season for Atlanta’s star center-forward.