Frank de Boer said Wednesday that if his Atlanta United players weren’t switched on from the first minute, LAFC was going to punish them Friday night.
Being switched on is an analogy de Boer has used several times.
It’s a message that doesn’t seem to be sinking in.
Atlanta United switched off in the first half of Friday's 4-3 loss to LAFC at Banc of California Stadium. The loss extended the team's losing streak to six in road games.
“We weren’t in the game how we wanted to be in the game,” de Boer said.
LAFC punished them with four goals in 12 minutes near the end of the first half. De Boer said too many times in the first half that LAFC had open men in the midfield who were able to get the ball to open men going forward.
“I honestly think we got bullied in the first half,” Atlanta United midfielder Julian Gressel said. “We couldn’t get a foot on the ball until the 35th minute. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror down 4-1, maybe they take their foot off the gas. It’s always poor starts for us in away games. That’s something we have to look at and change because you can’t win games giving up four goals on the road.”
The deluge of first-half goals was similar to the five given up at Chicago, one of the MLS’ worst teams, just a few weeks ago.
“For a handful of minutes, then we gave them too much space, too much space and time and when you play good teams, good players they punish you, we were late everywhere on the pitch for a 25-minute spell, in those 25 minutes we got punished for goals,” goalkeeper Brad Guzan said.
That’s not the first time that Guzan has referenced giving teams too much space after a loss. He also did so after a 3-2 loss at Toronto in which the team gave up goals in the first and 27th minute, and could have given up more had Toronto been more accurate shooting.
Why does it keep happening? The team gave up a goal in the second minute of a 2-0 loss at Columbus. A goal in the sixth minute of a 2-1 loss to Dallas. A goal in the 36th minute of a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake.
Is there a fundamental issue?
“I don’t know,” Gressel said. “I don’t really want to comment. Sorry.”
“Home or away it doesn’t matter,” Guzan said. “I think it’s more, I want to be careful with what I say, it’s more a sense of understanding what is happening and when I say that I mean being able to manage the game, manage the situation, for lack of a better term, we can’t piss the game away in 20 minutes. Again the game was over in 20 minutes.”
Atlanta United did fight back in the second half and had several chances to get the tying goal. De Boer said he was proud of the team’s effort, saying they straightened their back.
“It’s disappointing that we reacted only in the second half,” he said. “The other way, it’s positive that you dominate the second half against maybe one of the best teams, or it’s the best team right now if you see the standings. We were better in the second half. We created more. It leaves a very bad taste in our mouth, how we dealt that (in the first half).”
About the Author
