Atlanta United’s Miguel Almiron wasn’t sure if he felt relief after breaking a six-game drought with a goal in Sunday’s 3-1 win against Columbus.
Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino and teammate Josef Martinez said after the game that they thought he may have been feeling pressure.
“I don’t know if it was relief,” Almiron said. “I always have a great will to score goals. The most important thing is to do whatever I can to help the team.”
Almiron’s inability to find the net had become so common that the team’s supporters, among the most forgiving in the league, had taken to calling him “Misfiring Miggy” on twitter because, before the Columbus game, he had taken more than 100 shots and scored just eight goals.
The fact is, with nine games remaining, Almiron has already matched last year’s goal total (9, from 84 shots) and has 11 assists, just three less than he had last year when he was an MVP candidate until he was sidelined by an injury.
Were expectations for him too high this season?
“I try not to focus on that,” he said. “As I said, the most important thing is I try to get better every day, do what I can to help the team.
“Last season, on a personal level, it was a good season for me, the team and my teammates. Right now, we are just focusing on getting better.”
Three of Atlanta United’s next four games are against the worst teams in MLS, so Almiron will have chance to add to his scoring and assists totals.
“We just have to be calm, stay patient and keep doing the things we’ve been doing,” he said.
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