Gonzalo Pineda wants Atlanta United to stay humble, keep run going

Atlanta United fullback Brooks Lennon was absolutely correct Tuesday when he said that his team, winners of seven of its past eight and taker of 22 of its past 27 possible points, is one no other team in MLS wants to play right now.

And manager Gonzalo Pineda was absolutely correct Thursday when he said that the team has won nothing yet, and it needs to stay humble.

The next three games will be a good chance to see if the players are listening. The team, which may have to play without leading scorer Josef Martinez because of his right knee, plays at Philadelphia, which it leads by one point, on Saturday. It then hosts Miami, which its leads by four points, on Wednesday and plays at Montreal, which it trails by two points, on Oct. 2. If it keeps this run going, the team should make the MLS playoffs.

“This is very common in football that you have a good run,” Pineda said. “And then you feel like, ‘Yes, everything is going to be the same. And I don’t need to run. I don’t need to chase. I don’t need to press. I don’t need to connect my passes. Just because I’m so good.’ And that’s not the mentality I want for my team.”

Pineda said he wants good training sessions, which he said Atlanta United has had this week, and good moods, locker-room atmosphere and good vibes.

“So it’s going to be a big challenge,” he said. “So if we are sloppy, if we aren’t concentrating, we are going to suffer. So it’s massively, massively important that we remain humble, working hard in training, hard pressing, do all the little things that we’ve been doing, just to continue with this.”

Philadelphia, with its diamond-shaped midfield, presents a challenge that is mostly unique in MLS. The Union are undefeated in three games against Atlanta United this season. Philadelphia knocked the Five Stripes out of the Champions League with a 3-0 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium followed by a 1-1 draw in Chester, Pa. The teams drew 2-2 in their league meeting. Pineda wasn’t Atlanta United’s manager for any of those games. Nor did the team have attacker Luiz Araujo, so Pineda said it’s difficult to learn too much from watching those earlier games.

A diamond midfield is one that lines up in a 1-2-1 formation that is very narrow. It can readily press either side of the field in an attempt to create turnovers. But if a team can beat that pressure, or switch the ball to the other side of the field, it can lead to attacks.

“That diamond ... it’s very effective,” midfielder Mo Adams said. “It kind of leaves opponents maybe unsure whether to press one of the wide midfielders or to stay back.”

Though the third-place team in the East is just five points ahead of the eighth-place team, neither Pineda nor Brooks Lennon said that Saturday’s game is must-win.

“Because we still have a lot of games (nine) left,” Lennon said. “But very, very important. Every single game from this point forward is important for us as a club because we want to be as high as we can in that playoff picture.”

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Atlanta United’s 2021 MLS schedule

April 17 Atlanta United 0, Orlando 0

April 24 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 1

May 1 New England 2, Atlanta United 1

May 9 Atlanta United 1, Inter Miami 1,

May 15 Atlanta United 1, Montreal 0

May 23 Atlanta United 1, Seattle 1