New England Revolution expecting a focused Atlanta United
Following a midweek loss in the CONCACAF Champions League, Atlanta United will be looking to get back to winning ways at the New England Revolution.
Atlanta United lost on Tuesday 3-0 to the Philadelphia Union in the first leg of their quarterfinal series of the CONCACAF Champions League. The loss was a surprise given their solid start to the MLS season as Atlanta United beat the Chicago Fire 3-1 last weekend, giving them a win and a draw in regular season play.
“We’re expecting the strongest Atlanta United. We’re expecting them to want to come out and score goals,” Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner told reporters this week.
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“They had a lot of opportunities in their last game [against Philadelphia] and Andre Blake played amazingly. Philadelphia soaked in a lot of pressure and were able to get their goals. Credit to Philly for that game but I know Atlanta has a lot of players that are probably pretty disappointed with how that went on a pretty big stage so they’ll be looking to right the ship this weekend and come out flying.
“Their coach is really animated so he’ll have them fired up for the game so we just have to make sure we start the game strong like we did in both halves against D.C. United and we should be alright.”
The Revolution have started the season with a win and a draw of their own, tying their season opener at the Chicago Fire and beating DC United at home last week.
One area of concern for the Revolution is Ezequiel Barco, the diminutive midfielder who pulls the strings in the Atlanta United attack. Barco won goal of the week for a screamer this past Saturday against the Fire.
“Very good player. I’d probably define him a bit as an attacking midfielder.,” Revolution head coach Bruce Arena said.
“Very skillful, quick, good distributor of the ball, good taking players on, good finisher. Really good player. Very active on the field.”
In their midweek loss in the Champions League to the Union, Atlanta United held the run of play and had a clear advantage in nearly every offensive category.
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