Atlanta United coach Ronny Deila: Way out is safety, trust and fun

ORLANDO, Fla. — Ronny Deila said he thinks Atlanta United has hit the bottom and took responsibility for it after Saturday’s 3-0 loss at Orlando.

It was the first time in franchise history the team has been beaten by at least three goals in consecutive matches.

That’s not all.

Atlanta United has been shut out in three consecutive matches and is 180 seconds away from setting a franchise-record scoreless streak. It failed to put even a shot on goal, according to MLS stats provider, for the first time this season.

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There’s more.

It has just nine points from 10 matches, deepening its franchise-worst start.

“It’s about how we can turn this around and then we learn more about ourselves and as we learn as a group and then we come strongly from it, for sure,” Deila said.

What he said he’s seen the past two matches, first a 3-0 loss at Philadelphia and then Saturday’s defeat, are players that aren’t at levels shown in the past. He said the players are listening to the coaches. Perhaps too much. They are trying to do exactly what they are asked.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

And in an unwanted loop, he said the losing is making the players too serious, which results in them being too afraid to make mistakes, which causes them to make mistakes.

He said they played fine against Orlando until a penalty kick gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute. After that, the players locked up mentally. He doesn’t want them to be afraid to make mistakes.

“Then when we go down, you see almost like a fog in their heads,” he said. “You see we are always one meter too late. I don’t see a lot of smiles. I don’t see a lot of communication with the body or anything. So, again as I said last time, these are things I have seen before. It’s my task now, my responsibility now to get our players into the right mood into every game.”

Midfielder Alexey Miranchuk agreed that the players need to find their happiness again. He also said this bad run must be nearing its end.

Credit: Mitch Martin/Atlanta United

“Sometimes it’s really difficult when you’re in this situation.” Miranchuk said. “You’re not as confident as you expect. You want to have more fun, in a good way. Those things go easily, but yeah, we have to figure out how to find this joy again.”

Deila said he’s experienced this in the past. The way out is through safety, trust and having fun. The team has one week before it hosts Nashville, which scored seven goals Saturday in a win against Chicago.

Deila said it will start in practice. Players who are leaders will show the way. They will show more “teeth” (smiles), as he put it.

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“You know we really try to make each other better, to take care of each other,” he said. “But I think that when everybody wants a lot, and we want to show who we are, show how good we are, then you play the games 100 times before you played it. That is tiring I’m sure. Everybody that has some years under them have felt that feeling. How can we get our smiles back. How can we get the safety into us so that we can attack the situation. Now it’s more about scared to lose, than to attack. That is a mindset.”

Miranchuk said last season, when the team shocked Miami to win its best-of-three playoff series, the team took joy in playing defense. They knew they had to be strong against Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. If they were strong defensively, they could then counterattack.

So, the players know they can find the feeling.

Reigniting that spark isn’t the only challenge Deila and his staff faces. He acknowledged that he has yet to know his best 11. He went back to the core of what he started the season with: Saba Lobjanidze on the left, Miguel Almiron on the right, Miranchuk in the middle, and Bartosz Slisz and Mateusz Klich in the deeper midfield roles, with Jamal Thiare replacing the suspended Emmanuel Latte Lath at striker.

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It obviously didn’t work. The group totaled 1.0 expected goals and created seven chances. The team — with different lineups — has put 10 shots on goal, with one scored, in the past four matches. That goal was a penalty kick by Almiron. It hasn’t scored from open play in 366 minutes.

It has allowed eight goals during its past four matches.

“We need to be organized so everybody is safe on the pitch,” he said. “Then we have to attack the situation. Don’t think about every point we should have had, or everything we should have been. We are not there. We are now one of the teams that has performed worse in the league. We only played 10 games though. Many games left. How can we get better and work ourselves back and see the potential of everybody on the pitch.”

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Atlanta United’s 2025 schedule

Feb. 22 Atlanta United 3, Montreal 2

March 1 Charlotte 2, Atlanta United 0

March 8 Atlanta United 0, New York Red Bulls 0

March 16 Miami 2, Atlanta United 1

March 22 Atlanta United 2, Cincinnati 2

March 29 Atlanta United 4, NYCFC 3

April 5 Atlanta United 1, Dallas 1

April 12 New England 1, Atlanta United 0

April 19 Philadelphia 3, Atlanta United 0

April 26 Orlando 3, Atlanta United 0

May 3 vs. Nashville, 2:30 p.m., Apple, FOX