Atlanta United didn’t win in front of 42,562 soccer fans inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday night. They didn’t lose either. A 0-0 draw with the New York Red Bulls brought Atlanta’s overall record to an even 1-1-1 through three games.
Prior to the match both Atlanta and New York had a scoreline of 2-0 in common coming into this match. The visiting New York Red Bulls came into the match following a 2-0 victory at home over Nashville SC, while Atlanta lost by the same score at Charlotte FC last Saturday.
The match, the third of the season, would be another good early-season test for an Atlanta squad with high expectations.
Within the first 10 minutes of the match, there were several occasions where New York looked like they were in positions to strike before Stian Gregersen made a play. His run of play through three games this season can only be described as world-class.
Through the first 30 minutes of the match, Atlanta dominated the amount of possession, shots-on-goal, and passing accuracy numbers. Similar to the first half at Charlotte, that didn’t matter because there were zero goals to speak of as the teams entered their respective locker rooms at halftime.
Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel made several saves for his team during the first half of play. Add that to the list of similarities to the loss in Charlotte when Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina had an equally impressive first half and kept Atlanta scoreless.
During training this week, Atlanta United manager Ronny Deila stressed defending with a purpose. The back line of Gregersen, Derrick Williams, and Matt Edwards might have made their gaffer proud on this night. In the 65th minute with the score tied at zero, it was the defense that swatted away several solid scoring attempts by the Red Bulls. Edwards was taken out of the game in the 67th minute for Noah Cobb.
Edwin Mosquera (67th minute), Mateusz Klich (76), and Cayman Togashi (76) also subbed into the game during the second half. Deila has shown throughout the season he isn’t afraid to use his bench.
A New York free kick in the 84th minute was about as close as the visiting team got to a serious scoring opportunity in the second half.
Three minutes of stoppage time did nothing to help change this match.
Notes:
Tristan Muyumba made his first start of the season on Saturday, while Matt Edwards started his third consecutive match at right back.
Atlanta United will host Inter Miami CF on Sunday, Mar. 16. The match has a 7 p.m. scheduled start. The last time the two clubs faced each other at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the home side won a playoff game to force a game three in Florida.
