Atlanta United Vs Motagua: 3 things we learned – A positive result

1. Better performance compared to 2019

Last year’s opening performance on the road against Herediano was alarming. Atlanta United looked completely lost in the 3-1 road loss in Costa Rica. Returning players made uncharacteristic mistakes, while newly signed players looked extremely unsettled as they worked to build chemistry with their new teammates in realtime. And all this came with Frank de Boer taking the reins as the new head coach.

Tuesday night’s showing against Motagua was exponentially better than the team’s opening CCL performance last year. Although Motagua failed to capitalize on their chances, there were few moments when it felt like Atlanta lacked control over the game. Even in an underworked 4-3-3, the team looked fairly comfortable throughout the match.

The team’s performance is even more impressive when looking at the difference in Tuesday’s line-up from previous line-ups in preseason. Based on preseason play, the ideal starting XI for Tuesday’s match against Motagua would’ve looked something like this:

Josef Martinez
Ezequiel Barco     Pity Martinez
Anton Walkes     Emerson Hyndman      Jeff Larentowicz      Brooks Lennon
Fernando Meza      Miles Robinson     Franco Escobar
Brad Guzan

Instead, Tuesday night’s line-up and formation looked similar to this (there were numerous variations and plenty of flexibility as the match progressed):

Ezequiel Barco     Josef Martinez     Pity Martinez
Eric Remedi     Emerson Hyndman     Jeff Larentowicz
Franco Escobar     Anton Walkes     Fernando Meza     Mo Adams
Brad Guzan

In the formations above, there are a total of five players either lined up out of position or missing altogether. It was an especially risky move on de Boer’s part to play both Franco Escobar and Mo Adams out of position at the full-back spots, but with a 1-1 result, it proved to be a beneficial one.

The overarching point is this, however: Atlanta United will improve. As players return from injury, de Boer better instils his gameplan, and the team comes together, they will get better. And they are already beginning the season from a stronger starting place than last yet.