Alright, Atlanta soccer faithful, the focus is razor-sharp as we gear up for a massive Sunday Night Soccer showdown against FC Cincinnati! Coach Deila kicked off Friday’s training with a clear message, huddling the team to lay out his expectations. We’re pushing hard to rediscover our form, and what better opportunity than facing one of the league’s top teams?
Alexey Miranchuk echoed the coach’s sentiment, emphasizing unity: “[For him], it’s most important that we are one. We’re together in this boat.” That’s the spirit we need!
The Numbers Game: Creating Chances, Needing Goals!
Coach Deila dug into the stats after training, highlighting a key area: chance creation versus finishing. We’ve created a whopping 60 chances this season but only scored 14 goals – one of the lowest conversion rates in the league. That has to change, and the team has been putting in the work on the training ground, with a big emphasis on finishing drills this week.
Miranchuk himself leads the team in expected assists with four but hasn’t registered an actual assist yet. He believes it’s partly mental, needing that extra bit of composure to turn opportunities into goals. As he said, “[In] games, you play you versus you.” He’s been finding his mental reset by spending time with family around the campfire – sometimes the simplest things help!
The message is clear: keep it simple, stay composed, and that “magic stuff” will follow.
Cracking Cincinnati: Focusing on the Middle!
After Sunday, we’ll have faced both of the Supporters’ Shield leaders! Like the Philly game, this is a rematch. Cincinnati’s attack is very central, heavily relying on their star attacking midfielder Evander. A staggering 80% of their attacks flow through the left or right middle channels, and they rarely cross the ball (third-least in MLS!).
To counter this, our improved low-block defense will be crucial. On the flip side, Cincinnati concedes a high number of crosses (second-most in MLS!), which could be a real opportunity for us, as we’ve put in the sixth-most crosses this season!
While Deila jokes about the goal being in the middle, he’ll take goals any way they come! Training on Friday saw plenty of work on whipping in crosses and finishing them. Jamal Thiaré, who almost connected on a cross against Philly, was putting in some powerful finishes.
Deila’s bottom line? “These couple of phases we are very good at, but we are not effective enough. We are too weak in the main areas of the pitch, that is our own box and opponent’s box. We have to be much more clinical, much tougher, more physical, verbal and everything to to get most out of the performances.”
Alright, Atlanta! We know what we need to do! Let’s bring that energy to the Benz for Sunday Night Soccer and cheer our Five Stripes to a crucial victory against Cincy!
IT’S ALMOST GAMEDAY! VAMOS ATLANTA!
