Eliminating ‘simple mistakes’ must be Atlanta United’s priority, Deila says

The team started well after the switch, giving up four goals in three games. But it has regressed, allowing six goals in its past three for a six-match average of 1.6, and a season average of 1.76 per match.

Atlanta United won two of those six matches.

The team has five matches of six remaining in a road stretch. It will next play at NYCFC on June 12 after the completion of this week’s international break.

“You cannot score three, four goals away,” he said. “That you do one or two times a year. But you do not do that often.”

Though Deila changed the formation, the mental mistakes that contributed to causing the change are reoccurring.

Atlanta United gave up a goal to the Red Bulls within the first five minutes because Miguel Almiron underhit a pass in his team’s defensive third of the field that was intercepted by New York’s Cameron Harper.

Luis Abram failed to stop him one-on-one, and Atlanta United trailed in the fourth minute.

Deila described it as “a lot of the same story.”

The second goal allowed 26 minutes later came from a pass that split two Atlanta United defensive lines. Harper got behind Pedro Amador and squared a pass to Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to one-time it.

Deila said the team didn’t press the Red Bulls with enough intensity when New York had the ball, which forced the back line to drop deeper. That has been a season-long issue.

“It’s the simple things like balls in behind, we don’t recover right,” Deila said. “It’s the pass we play and are not accurate enough, and then we are not good enough in the one-on-one challenge. For me, those are things we need to work on. That is what we need to get better. If not, then it’s going to be tough to get three points.”

Deila pointed out that in Atlanta United’s four wins, it has allowed two, three, two and two goals. It failed to win its only shutout, a 0-0 draw with the Red Bulls at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the season’s third match.

Deila said he thinks the system he has implemented, a 5-3-2, suits the players. Now, they need to keep training.

A problem is that six of the 11 starters won’t be with the team when it gathers again because they were called up by their national teams.

“It’s not the end of the world,” captain Brad Guzan said. “We need to get better in all areas of the game. Maybe guys going away with their national teams and change the scenery and whatnot, all of a sudden maybe that gives them maybe a little bit of confidence.

“Hopefully, we can use this time as a positive. We won’t have everyone in the building, but still an opportunity for guys to be able to then come back and rejoin the group, maybe refreshed and with a bit of a chip on the shoulder that gives us that move to go into New York City.”

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