Atlanta United won't have a lot of time between Sunday's 2-2 draw at LAFC and Wednesday's final friendly of the preseason against the L.A. Galaxy.
As such, manager Frank de Boer said most of the preparation in the next two days may be mental because the first two days after a game are when the players recover.
During the recovery, he said the players are going to watch a lot of film.
“Let’s see those phases where we were good, why we were good and why we were not so good,” he said. “The most important thing is for the players to recognize and execute it in the game.”
Atlanta United will return home on Thursday. It will open its season on Feb. 21 against Herediano in Costa Rica in its debut in the CONCACAF Champions League.
De Boer liked most of what he saw from Sunday’s draw. Of the 90 minutes, he said he thought the team controlled the middle portion, which is when is took a 2-0 lead in the first 29 minutes on goals from Pity Martinez and Julian Gressel. However, LAFC scored twice in the game’s final 32 minutes to earn the draw, and had a few chances to take a 3-2 lead if not for saves from Brad Guzan.
“We know games are longer than 60-70 minutes and in those moments we have to sharp and better with the ball,” Guzan said. “Today felt like a real game, plain and simple. Some good challenges, some not so good challenges. Competitive. Conditions kept the field slick in terms of tempo. All those things are good in the sense that’s what we are looking for to make ourselves better.”
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