Every fiber of my being felt fully prepared to write the “ATLANTA IS BACK NO SERIOUSLY THIS TIME” column. Instead, I’m stuck trying to explain that Atlanta fans should feel as good as anyone can feel after a 3-0 loss.
It’s been two years in Atlanta since I’ve seen a team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium come out and win nearly every duel, attack space and completely control a game from the outset. Atlanta repeatedly clattered into the Union and won the ball. If they didn’t, they immediately had a teammate there to finish the job.
In his postgame press conference, Kacper Przybylko conceded that Atlanta came out with an impressive amount of physicality. It all nearly resulted in an early lead. It should have resulted in an early lead. The first half finished with Atlanta at 1.3 xG to just .08 from Philadelphia. Andre Blake is always and forever going to Andre Blake it seems like though.
In the second half, a goal came that shouldn’t have on a corner. Atlanta kept pushing. Minutes later, Atlanta got burned on the break for another goal. Atlanta kept pushing. They got burned again. I guess there’s no shame in going out with honor, but man. In a two-legged tie, sometimes you have to know when to pull back.
Y’all remember that terrible golf movie Tin Cup? You can’t just be Kevin Costner smashing the ball into the lake over and over again until you finally reach the green on your 400th try. That’s stupid. That whole movie is stupid.
Fortunately, that knowledge will come with experience. It can be tough to remember, but this Atlanta team is far younger than I think most people realize. There were teenagers and early 20s kids all over the pitch for Atlanta tonight. Many, maybe all of them, brought a playoff level intensity to this game. Not just the intensity, but the ability clearly and repeatedly appeared as well.
