Frustration and Fatigue: Atlanta United Stumbles in Leagues Cup Start

Atlanta United's journey in the Leagues Cup kicked off tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Club Necaxa took all three points in a 3-1 win. After a tightly contested first half, Los Rayos pulled away late, scoring two goals in sixteen minutes to win the match.

Atlanta United opened the match on the front foot, pressing into the attacking third early with a strong aerial presence in set-pieces. In the 8th minute, Bartosz Slisz nearly put Atlanta ahead with a clean shot, but the Necaxa goalkeeper Ezequiel Unsain made the stop.

In the 12th minute, Necaxa struck first under confusing circumstances. A ball swung in from outside the box was redirected by Raúl Sánchez, it bounced off the crossbar, then off Brad Guzan and into the net. The Video Assistant Referee Guillermo Pacheco sent referee Marco Ortiz to the monitor for a review. While it appeared Sánchez was in an offside position, there was also a review of a potential handball before that by Derrick Williams as he lunged to try to block the shot from Tomas Jacob that then deflected to Sánchez.

The goal was ultimately given with explanations from Ortiz leaving everyone unfulfilled. When asked afterwards about the decision, Williams said, "I am so confused because he gave a handball which is understandable, that should have been a penalty. At least Brad has a chance to save it. He said handball, it's a goal. So I was like, 'how's that make sense?' The goal is offside, he gave offside."

Atlanta responded quickly with the sequence beginning and ending with Alexey Miranchuk. In the 28th minute, Miranchuk started the build-up by finding Luke Brennan. Brennan drove forward on the dribble, nutmegged a defender, and passed the ball off to Tristan Muyumba, who sent in a low cross. Unsain got a touch to the cross, but Miranchuk followed his run and slotted it in to level the score 1–1.

Luke Brennan slipping past Emilio Martinez on the dribble. (Photos: Vanessa Angel for the SDH Network)

It was anyone’s match as Necaxa threatened on a break in the 33rd minute, only to be denied by Guzan and sent out for a corner. Atlanta countered off the set piece quickly, with Miguel Almirón sprinting half the field and cutting back at the top of the box to take the shot, but it deflected, and Jamal Thiaré nearly finished the chance but was ultimately denied for a second time. In the 38th, Almiron played another great ball in, but again, no final touch connected. Brennan continued to shine with his on the ball movement, creating lots of opportunities near the box.

Necaxa manager Fernando Gago said, "“The game went very well according to what we were trying to do, of course in the first half it was more difficult for us to hold on to the match and try to do what we could to weaken the opponent. In the second half we found a better way to block their passes even though they did have a couple of good chances. But from that we knew where we could find our opportunities to attack.”

Necaxa’s press continued to grow suffocating as the second half began, disrupting Atlanta’s spacing and leaving little room for progression up the field. Brennan picked up a yellow card in the 60th minute for a tactical foul to break up a Necaxa counter, and Atlanta made several substitutions at the 64-minute mark to freshen up the group on the field.

Both teams swapped chances in the 72nd minute; Atlanta’s attempt was cleared, and Necaxa’s sailed over the bar. In the 77th, a turnonver from Williams was nullified by a strong tackle from Enea Mijai but on the following corner, Necaxa converted with a header by Tomás Badaloni, going up 2–1.

Atlanta kept pushing for an equalizer, sending in dangerous crosses, but continued to lack that final connection to score. In the 91st minute, a corner was cleared by United but was regained by Necaxa outside the box. The ball was fired back into the 18 by Cristian Calderón where Badaloni was waiting in the right spot to slot it in for a brace on the night, sealing the match 3–1 for Necaxa.

Ronny Deila said, "Those three set-play situations, those were the only chances [Necaxa] had the entire match, maybe another half chance. It is the same story. I don’t know what to say. I think we get tired, especially in defense, and we had to change Stian, who was cramping and has not really trained much all year after being in and out [with injuries]. You saw that Derrick was very tired in the last 30-35 minutes, so he just was not the same player that he was at the beginning of the match. We put in Enea to play there, and then Pedro had to go out because he is tired, and he is another one who has had a very difficult situation this season. [Ronald Hernandez] hasn’t played much out wide left, where he ended the match tonight, so then we get no consistency in the back again."

Looking ahead, Atlanta United now faces a must-win scenario to keep its Leagues Cup hopes alive. Saturday's match will be the nightcap of a doubleheader at Inter & Co Stadium as Pumas will try to build on their opening shootout win in the tournament in the second match for both teams. Kickoff is set for 9pm.

"“This has put us into a very difficult situation. We have to go on and win the next two matches, that will be the goal, and to develop ourselves," Deila said. "We need to get better, that is the only thing. There are so many positive things that I can say about [the team], but in the end, the whole situation turns very negative after the way the match played out.”