How Atlanta United Can Solve Nashville SC's Press Again
- Edward Stratmann
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
As MLS returns after the 2026 World Cup break, it'll be fascinating to see how Atlanta United comes out swinging when they take on BJ Callaghan's superb Nashville SC outfit at Geodis Park.
Although both teams arrive at different ends of the standings, their meeting earlier in the season is worth revisiting. That one finished in a 2-0 Nashville win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that didn't reflect how competitive the game actually was.
Atlanta did face a rotated Nashville unit, as this fixture fell after the second leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup tie against Club América, but the display was still littered with encouragement for The Five Stripes.
Tata Martino's men caused a plethora of problems from a tactical perspective in the first half especially, offering some real positives to be extracted heading into the latest installment.
To start with, Atlanta found multiple ways to trouble Nashville in their build-up, with Martino conjuring plenty of smart solutions to beat Nashville's mid-block press.
Nashville's approach in that contest was organized and defined, for they lined up in a compact 4-4-2/4-2-2-2 setup and typically sat off rather than engaging high. Opting to often defend in a zonal fashion and wait for specific triggers, such as a backwards pass, a sideways ball, or anything funnelled into wide areas before springing into action, their plan was clear.
Their positioning was clever as well, screening central access while also shutting down wide lanes. The wingers frequently tucked in narrowly, then arced out-to-in to use their cover shadows to prevent passes into the full-backs, with Nashville's own full-backs ready to jump aggressively if the ball was played to the wing.
Atlanta countered this framework effectively, however. Through Tristan Muyumba and, on occasion, Jay Fortune, they dropped an extra midfielder into the first line to form a 3v2 in the build-up and invited Nashville to step forward. Once the press was baited, Atlanta used neat third-man combinations and bounce passes to find their spare player in the middle facing forward to overcome the block with clarity.
In established possession, Muyumba then sat in a withdrawn slot to stabilize rest defense, giving Atlanta a fluid sort of 3-2-5 or 3-1-6 shape that ensured they could commit numbers upfield without losing too much control in transition.
Another clever solution saw Fortune rotate into the right-back zone, which allowed nominal right-back Tomás Jacob to push higher while still providing structural security in case of a turnover, which was all the more important given the freedom Alexey Miranchuk was afforded.
With Miranchuk drifting infield so successfully from the right, his movement constantly manipulated Nashville's backline. When Miranchuk embarked on nifty bursts in behind centrally and in the half-spaces, he astutely pinned his marker, thus manufacturing time and space for Jacob to motor down the touchline and deliver crosses.
On other moments where Miranchuk dropped deep instead, Fortune attacked the room he created, which was aided further by Emmanuel Latte Lath checking towards the ball to exaggerate the available pockets. It was intelligent, coordinated movement designed to stretch and unbalance Nashville's block.
There was an instance that encapsulated Miranchuk's menace aptly, where he strategically drew Daniel Lovitz deep and attracted Ahmed Qasem toward the ball, as this expertly opened oceans of space for Jacob to surge into down the right. Atlanta produced many excellent sequences through this pattern.
A fresh layer of threat developed when MatÃas Galarza drifted across from the left to join the overload on the right. His presence helped pin and ask questions of adversaries, which enabled Atlanta to destabilize Nashville and pinpoint the free man. This tilt to one side also had the added bonus of releasing ElÃas Báez on the far flank for switches after Nashville had shifted horizontally. A classic example of the overload-to-isolate principle in full flow.
Though they ultimately lost this encounter and couldn't translate their spells of ascendancy into goals, there was plenty of upside in how they made headway against one of MLS' finest and most complete packages in and out of possession, even while undermanned.
Martino, speaking afterward, noted that the team's level dropped significantly in the second half following a strong opening 70 minutes. He lamented the side's inability to generate quality chances despite holding the edge for long stretches, and pointed to their struggles managing adversity once the game turned against them.
The mechanics that troubled Nashville were already there. Whether Atlanta can sustain them for a full 90 minutes at Geodis Park is what this rematch will actually answer.