Five things to know about Atlanta United on Monday:
1. The Five Stripes earned their first MLS win this season with a comfortable 2-0 victory over New England at Gillette Stadium on a beautiful Saturday night. Manager Frank de Boer said the score could have easily been 6-1. He wasn't wrong. The team had two shots cleared off the goal line and Josef Martinez completely whiffed on what would have been a shot from about 5 yards. There are four teams left in the league that have yet to win: NYCFC, Vancouver, Colorado and Portland.
2. The win was led by Ezequiel Barco, who had the first multi-goal game of his career with Atlanta United. The first goal against New England was a simple tap-in. The second was an exquisite curling effort from the corner of the penalty box into the opposite corner of the goal. It was a piece of skill that may jump-start the Argentine's career because it shows what he can do when he's aggressive. Despite his goals, which bring his season total to three, he wasn't named the Man of the Match. Why? Because it is sponsored by a beer company. Barco is just 20. Darlington Nagbe, who had a very good game first as an attacking midfielder and then as a defensive midfielder, was named the Man of the Match.
3. Barco’s chances came partially because of an injury sustained by Eric Remedi. The injury occurred when his head collided with that of a New England player. The collision happened in the game’s opening seconds. Remedi was examined and played on before he was subbed out in the 15th minute after sitting down on the turf. After the game, de Boer said Remedi has a concussion. Remedi was in the locker room in the game walking around and interacting with his teammates. An update on his condition has yet to be provided by the team on Monday.
4. Both of Barco’s goals came on assists from Hector Villalba. Neither he nor Martinez scored, but both were praised by de Boer for their activity within the offense. I’ll write about that on Tuesday.
5. Atlanta United will host Dallas on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Dallas has 13 points this season to Atlanta United’s five. It is in fifth in the Western Conference. The team features a cadre of solid young players, including Jesus Ferreira and Paxton Pomykal.
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