BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Atlanta United, not unexpectedly, has work to do after dispatching Birmingham 2-1 on Saturday in its first preseason match this season.
Manager Gonzalo Pineda said he liked that the team played with aggression and that it won, something it has had difficulty doing away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the past few seasons. Tactically, with what he said was really only a week’s worth of sessions, the team needs to improve how it plays in a middle block.
“I told them the performance in this friendly matches is important, but we’re going to be a bit more paying attention to the results,” he said. “We want to start a winning mentality and I told them that and we need to start in the front foot since the very beginning. I know at times it’s not easy to play against these type of teams that are always competitive and physical and they have a lot of anxiety to show very well. They did a good job. But we beat them and that mentality needs to carry on throughout the whole preseason.”
Pineda created three teams, with each designated to play 30-minute segments. Players expected to be starters when the team opens its season at Columbus were sprinkled throughout the first two teams.
The starting 11 for the first period was composed of goalkeeper Brad Guzan, right fullback Aiden McFadden, centerbacks Stian Gregersen and Derrick Williams, left fullback Ronald Hernandez, midfielders Tristan Muyumba, Javier Armas, and Nicolas Firmino, wingers Xande Silva and Luke Brennan, and striker Giorgos Giakoumakis. Gregersen and Williams were the newer signings to be included within the group. Armas was selected in the draft and signed with Atlanta United 2.
The second 11 was composed of goalkeeper Josh Cohen, right fullback Brooks Lennon, centerbacks Noah Cobb and Luis Abram, left fullback Daniel Russo, midfielders Ajani Fortune, Dax McCarty and Derrick Etienne, wingers Tyler Wolff ad Saba Lobjanidze, and striker Jamal Thiare.
The 11 for the third period was composed mostly of Atlanta United 2 and Academy players.
Pineda said on Friday that he wanted to see the team defend with its pressure and in the mid-block, with the back line pushed one-third of the way up the field. The team also wanted to work on playing from the back when it had goal kicks.
Pineda said the first group played mostly well in the mid-block, but rotations and communication needs to be better. He said the second group needs more work in the mid-block. He said sometimes the cues on when to press were mis-read. He said the team has made some changes to some of its defensive tactics this season, which may be why. He said they’ve worked on it just three times so far. The third team hasn’t gotten to train much together.
Atlanta United dominated possession and its players got into attacking spaces but had trouble creating shots against the Legion, who were playing with three centerbacks and two wingbacks in a 5-2-2-1 formation.
Pineda said the most encouraging thing is how quickly the team was able to increase its pace in attack once it broke Birmingham’s lines with passes. That is something the team has worked on. He said he also liked that the players were able to figure out how to break through Birmingham’s compactness.
Giakoumakis scored in the 20th minute on his first shot of the preseason. Hernandez, standing 25 yards from goal, hit a cross from the right that Williams used his head to flick to Giakoumakis, who tapped the ball and then shot. It was Atlanta United’s second shot on goal. Silva had the first.
An example of Atlanta United’s increasing the pace of its attack came on its second goal.
Firmino made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute with a 6-yard shot from the left. It was taken close to the same spot form where Giakoumakis scored and Silva was denied. Silva played Firmino into space.
“Xande played me a great ball,” Firmino said.
It was an important goal for Firmino, who is in his first season with Atlanta United after starring for Atlanta United 2 last season. Firmino is competing for the few minutes that will be available in support of Thiago Almada. Almada is with the Argentina Under-23 team and may not return to Atlanta United for a few more weeks.
“I’ve been working really hard in the offseason,” Firmino said. “Any opportunity I get on the field I’m trying to show everything that I can do. So I hope to build on that the next couple of games and stay strong.”
Pineda said he knows that Firmino can score and that he’s composed on the ball.
“Once we are in the final third, he’s a real threat inside the box,” Pineda said. “And either he can create the space for their mids or he can create his own chances. So yeah, he did a good job.”
Atlanta United experienced one of MLS new rules changes when Silva had to leave the field after being examined by trainers after Firmino’s goal. The new rule states that if a trainer must come on to the field to examine a player, that player must leave the field and may not re-enter for two minutes.
Gregersen was playing just his second training session with Atlanta United after getting his visa on Thursday. McFadden, another player competing for minutes, said that the communication with Gregersen went well as the two played on the right side of the back line. Pineda said he liked Gregersen’s aggressiveness and ability in the air.
“Norwegians are awesome,” McFadden said. “I really like the guy. I’m excited to see what he can bring to the team.”
Heaving rain started at the 26th minute. It stopped around the 37th minute.
Enzo Martinez scored for Birmingham in the 42nd minute. The shot deflected late off an Atlanta United defender. Cohen had already starting moving toward his right, which was the shot’s original trajectory, before it bounced off Abram and to Cohen’s left.
Pineda said the play started with a turnover, which he can live with. He said he didn’t like that the team didn’t move aggressively enough to close down Birmingham’s players when they started attacking.
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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule
Feb. 24 at Columbus, 2 p.m.
March 9 vs. New England, 7:30 p.m.
March 17 vs. Orlando, 7 p.m., FS1
March 23 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
March 31 vs. Chicago, 3:30 p.m., FOX
April 6 at NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.
April 14 vs. Philadelphia, 2:30 p.m., FOX
April 20 vs. Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
April 27 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
May 4 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.
May 11 vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
May 15 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
May 18 at Nashville, 1:30 p.m.
May 25 vs. LAFC, 7:30 p.m.
May 29 at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
June 2 vs Charlotte, 4:30 p.m., FOX
June 15 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.
June 19 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
June 22 at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.
June 29 vs. 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 13 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 17 vs. NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.
July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.
Aug. 31 at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5 vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Orlando, 6 p.m.
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