Here are five things to know about Atlanta United and MLS All-Star Week:
1. Atlanta United heads into the very short MLS All-Star Game break with the most points in the league (47), in the driver's seat for the Supporters' Shield and with the league's leading-goal-scorer, Josef Martinez, who added two more in last week's 2-1 win at Montreal. That's a city worth visiting, if you ever have time. Poutine isn't my thing, but the city is great for foodies and for walkies.
2. The All-Star game will be played on Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The opponents will be Juventus, which unfortunately won't have Cristiano Ronaldo. The All-Stars will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The former Juventus star, who now plays for the L.A. Galaxy, withdrew last night after scoring a hat trick to send Orlando City packing, 4-3. The All-Star game will be at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast by ESPN.
3. On Tuesday, the MLS Homegrown Game will take place at Atlanta United's training center in Marietta. Andrew Carleton and Lagos Kunga will be two players on the Homegrown team, which will be coached by Atlanta United Academy Director Tony Annan. They will play Tigres UANL Under-20 team. The game will be at 8 p.m. and will be televised by Univision Deportes.
4. Today’s schedule includes the All-Stars training, a press conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the Men in Blazers show being filmed at The Tabernacle. Other stuff that happened on Sunday included Atlanta rapper 2Chainz talking about his affection for Atlanta United. His music really changed when our collaboration broke up. I blame myself.
5. Lastly, here’s a look at the race for the Supporters’ Shield. Atlanta United got a bit of help this weekend from Seattle, which beat NYCFC, and Columbus, which beat New York Red Bulls. Dallas is still in play.
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