Saying they must show a different Atlanta United on Thursday, manager Frank de Boer again expressed confidence Wednesday that his team can defeat Herediano by a margin large enough to advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament.
“I have confidence we can beat them 2-0, maybe more,” he said.
Atlanta United was beaten by Herediano 3-1 last week in Costa Rica in the series’ first leg, which was also the Five Stripes’ debut in the tournament.
Atlanta United can advance to the quarterfinals in several ways. The easiest is to win by at least 2-0. If the team can post a shutout, it needs only to score two goals to advance because it scored a crucial away goal.
Should Herediano score at least one goal Thursday at Kennesaw State, Atlanta United would need to score three to force penalties or four to advance.
Should Herediano score at least two, Atlanta United’s debut in the Champions League likely will become rich tifo fodder for its MLS opponents.
“We have to get a result,” Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. “There’s no tomorrow.”
Last week, Herediano, in the middle of its league season, looked faster and more motivated than did Atlanta United, which was playing its first meaningful game in 2019 and under its new manager.
While Herediano’s attacks were smooth and its defense mostly organized, Atlanta United had great difficulty stringing enough passes together to threaten Herediano, and its defenders were consistently out of position.
“Most were individual errors,” de Boer said. “Maybe a lot of players didn’t play on the level they can. We have to do better. Everybody knows it.”
De Boer said he doesn’t expect Herediano to come in and bunker in an attempt to secure advancement, which may help Atlanta United because it may create gaps in the defense of the Costa Rican champs.
Atlanta United seems willing to learn from the mistakes that contributed to three goals allowed, as well as the team consistently not having a numerical advantage in attacks.
It has history from which to draw. Since CONCACAF adopted a two-legged format for the Champions League in 2002, eight teams have bounced back from a two-goal deficit.
In its two seasons, Atlanta United has lost back-to-back games just twice. Each sequence happened in its first season.
During the 2018 league season, Atlanta United went 6-0-1 in a game following a loss, which is a sign that it does benefit from its experiences.
“Of course we had problems,” Josef Martinez said of the first game. “It’s one game. It’s our first game under a new coach. We aren’t worried about that after one game. Last year, we lost the first game 4-0 to Houston. If we keep making the same mistakes, then it becomes a problem. It’s up to each player to try and get better and learn what the coach wants.”
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