Midway through MLS, Atlanta United season preview

It’s 3-5-2 at home, five positive results and five negative results. The five defeats constitute the most in franchise history.

The scoreline is 1-3-3 away, with six points from seven away matches, which is almost the point per game target that teams are striving to achieve.

Due to its blah nature, Atlanta United heads into the final 17 games of the season, starting Wednesday at DC United, with an interim manager (Rob Valentino) and a lot more questions than answers, including the team can she return to positive form, continue her running momentum and participate in the playoffs?

This doesn’t seem likely. Two weeks ago, she fired her director, Gonzalo Pineda. They have one victory in their last 12 league matches and have just sold their top scorer, Giorgos Giakoumakis. He is missing two starters for the next matches because they are playing in the Euro. He will be missing three more later this summer for the Olympics and the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship.

But it’s Valentino’s job to bring them out of the drabness and into a more lively place.

“It’s about how we can progress and improve and have ideas on what we’ve discussed fixing from there,” Valentino said. “So in that sense, it was the first game, against Houston, and then we talked about being in the present. So we kind of got that, and now we’re going to keep moving forward.

Here are some other things to consider regarding the first part of the season:

How did Atlanta United get here? Two major reasons: injuries and mental errors. A brief list of starters who have missed several matches or significant minutes this season due to injuries: central defenders Stian Gregersen and Derrick Williams, attackers Giorgos Giakoumakis and Jamal Thiare, wingers Xande Silva and Tyler Wolff, attacking midfielder Thiago Almada …and with that goes to the reserves.

Pineda said he has never experienced anything in his career like the bad luck that Atlanta United is experiencing. This contributed to his dismissal two weeks ago.

Injuries affect teams in different ways. In the case of Atlanta United, it negatively affected chemistry, which affected confidence, which affected the game. Players became hesitant. Provisional players are slow to reach or make mental errors. This has happened time and time again with Atlanta: the two goals Houston scored last week. One of the goals Charlotte scored two games ago. The mistake that resulted in LAFC’s free kick four games ago. As with injuries, the list is long.

Pineda didn’t know how to help players stop making these mistakes, so that was also a factor.

Match in which the season turned. Philadelphia on April 14. Atlanta United’s season is off to a good start. It was 3-2-1, with two of those results almost disposable as the first was in Columbus and Atlanta United brought in several new starters. The second took place in freezing conditions in Toronto, where five starters were unavailable due to injuries and the FIFA international window. There was actually ice on the ball during the game.

So, Atlanta United felt good about themselves.

And then came the Union.

Atlanta United took a 2-0 lead against Philadelphia. He had control of the match…until he didn’t. Philadelphia scored two goals, the first coming from an Atlanta United error. A third scored by Union was overturned due to an offside call after review.

With the exception of one game, Atlanta United hasn’t been the same since.

Before allowing the first of these two goals, Atlanta United had dominated their opponents 12-5. Since those two goals and in the following 10 matches, Atlanta United has been outscored 18-12.

Best match so far. Easily its 3-1 victory against Miami on May 29. This was the closest Atlanta United had come to their 2017-18 seasons. The team was tactically flexible, with three central defenders for the first time. It was aggressive on offense and defense. He played vertically. He showed no fear while playing against Lionel Messi and the manager of those 2017-18 teams, Gerardo Martino.

Worst match so far. Atlanta United followed this victory against Miami with a 3-2 loss to Charlotte at home on June 2. Atlanta United scored first, then gave up an own goal a few minutes later on a chance play. Atlanta United allowed two more goals, including one when a player was unmarked in the center of the penalty area, before scoring their second goal. It wasn’t the worst performance, but it was the worst game because any momentum the team could have built dissipated in the boos of the home crowd. Pineda was fired the next day.

Best player of the first half. Honestly, it’s hard to choose one. The team has an average record because no player really stood out.

Although neither was perfect, Saba Lobjanidze and Brad Guzan may have been the team’s best players in the first half.

Guzan’s save percentage increased from last season, his passing was excellent. Could he have done better against Nashville and LAFC? Of course. But he has kept Atlanta United in several matches this season. He even saved a penalty.

Lobjanidze has the most combined goals and assists (8) among all members of the first team. Additionally, he was one of the few players who could be included in the starting lineup for every game. He played well enough to be called up to Georgia for the Euros after being overlooked in the last two qualifying matches.

Player who needs to step up his efforts in the second half. It’s not that he’s not playing well, but Thiago Almada could use an impactful second half to help himself finalize his desired move to a club in Europe, help the club get a better price for him and help him qualify for the playoffs.

Almada has four goals and three assists. He went from being a finalist for MVP last season to no longer being considered one of the best attacking midfielders in MLS.

Almada has the talent to be the second best player in MLS, behind his compatriot Lionel Messi. It can be argued that Almada was negatively affected more than any other player on the team by the rotating carousel of players at striker and left wing. He’s the kind of player who can create individual magic, but he’s also very good at anticipating a teammate’s moves and placing the ball in places only they can access. It’s hard to do that when these players come in and out of the lineup.

Key match in the second half. The most important match won’t even be the MLS one. This will be the team’s next match in the US Open Cup as it will be the team’s best opportunity to win a trophy. He just needs three more wins, starting July 9 against USL’s Indy Eleven in the quarterfinals. If Atlanta United advances, and they should because the game will be played at Kennesaw State, they will either travel to Dallas or Sporting KC for the semifinals. Even though Atlanta United has only one road win, these opponents are two of the three worst teams in the Western Conference.

The final is scheduled to be played on September 25. The remaining teams in the field are Seattle and LAFC from MLS and Sacramento Republic and New Mexico United from USL.

Other scenarios? Of course.

The team wants to recruit another striker to replace Giakoumakis during the next transfer window (July 18-August 14).

Almada continues to express his desire to play in Europe, although no offers have yet been reported.

If fullback Caleb Wiley is selected to play for the United States in the Olympics, a good performance in France could lead to an offer from a European club.

Finally, and most importantly, the club’s search for a fifth manager continues. This probably won’t be over anytime soon.

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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule

February 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0

April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1

April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2

April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1

April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1

May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in US Open Cup

May 11 DC United 3, Atlanta United 2

May 15 Cincinnati 1, Atlanta United 0

May 18 Atlanta United 1, Nashville 1

May 21 Atlanta United 0 (5), Charleston 0 (4) in US Open Cup

May 25 LAFC 1, Atlanta United 0

May 29 Atlanta United 3, Miami 1

June 2 Charlotte 3, Atlanta United 2

June 15 Atlanta United 2, Houston 2

June 19 at DC United, 7:30 p.m.

June 22 in Saint-Louis, 8:30 p.m.

June 29 c. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

July 3 at New England, 7:30 p.m.

July 6 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.

July 9 against Indy Eleven in the US Open Cup

July 13 in Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

July 17 vs. NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.

July 20 against Columbus, 7:30 p.m.

July 26 against DC United in the League Cup, 7:30 p.m.

August 4 against Santos Laguna in the League Cup, 4 p.m.

August 24 at LA Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.

August 31 in Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.

September 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.

September 18 against Miami, 7:30 p.m.

September 21 at the Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

September 28 in Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

October 2 c. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

October 5 against Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

October 19 in Orlando, 6 p.m.