Let’s throw all our cards out on the table: Saturday’s not going to be easy for the Revolution, who return to The Scene Of The Crime to play the Five Stripes to Atlanta United FC (3:30 p.m., Univision/Twitter, WBZ-FM 98.5, 1260 AM).
AUFC has, of course, far and away the best striker in the land in Josef Martinez, who has scored 30 goals, 20 of which from open play. The next highest? A certain guy named Zlatan with 20.
And while everyone talks about Josef, Josef, Josef, and they have every right to — but also give credit to his supporting cast:
There’s the speedy Miguel Almiron, rumored to be en route to Europe after this season. He has 12 goals and has helped on 14 others. There’s Hector “Tito” Villalba over on the left, who can give defenses problems with his pace. Providence College alum Julian Gressel, who can whip in a free kick or a cross from the right with precision. Ezequiel Barco. Darlington Nagbe. I could go on.
Simply put, Atlanta United is dangerous. The Five Stripes can burn a defense with its pace, and if the opposition gives them an iota of space, it can be to their peril: against Real Salt Lake, Gressel came into the box as a late arrival, unmarked.
The result? A cross to change the point of attack, and Gressel dished out a stunning half-volley into the net.
What to know about Atlanta United
Everything goes through Almiron. He’s the talisman, and attacks generally start through the center. Against New York Red Bulls on Sunday, Almiron had the best attack of the afternoon, getting behind the defense with the fiery soles of his feet, but couldn’t beat Kris Robles. If on the break, Almiron looks to be the first option (much in the same way Cristian Penilla is the first option for New England).
AUFC likes to play out of the back, which means the Revs will look to press. With the ball in the midfield, expect Atlanta’s back line to play high. If Leandro Gonzales Pirez is the Atlanta left back with Michael Parkhurst and Jeff Larentowicz, he would be the faster of the three in the back.
Atlanta changes the point of its attack smoothly, almost effortlessly. Against New England in late May, AUFC pounded numbers forward and took advantage of space.
How New England can beat, or at least contain, Atlanta
Against San Jose two weeks ago, the Five Stripes played with three in the back and gave up a lot of space in front of Brad Guzan. They played with three in the back against New York on Sunday, and the Scarlet Steers managed to slice them to pieces.
Be patient. Much like Penilla did against Chicago two weeks ago, patience against the slow-footed Parkhurst — who has been known to freeze inside the box — can lead to an opportunity to shoot. If Atlanta gives space, the Revs need to be clinical in finishing. Penilla and Juan Agudelo, should he start on the right, have the speed and the technical ability on the ball to dance/drive through the defense. Also, do your best to expose the space between Gressel and Larentowicz.
Be tighter on defense, don’t be disorganized, and if Almiron is on the ball, close down and pressure to dispossess. Atlanta’s goal against the Revs back in May saw Nagbe thread a pass outside to Gressel. The German crossed into the box, saw Martinez shake his mark (Antonio Delamea) by drifting toward the penalty spot. Delamea did not follow, and Martinez blasted the ball beyond Delamea and goalkeeper Matt Turner. And remember, Turner had himself a night as the last line of defense, given that the Revs’ defensive options had difficulty in containing Barco, Martinez, and Almiron. Luis Caicedo, Scott Caldwell (who will be unavailable for selection this weekend with a yellow card accumulation suspension), and Delamea made the bigger stops of the night.
In that vein, Andrew Farrell and whoever will be at left back cannot lay off the pursuit of Villalba and Gressel. Too dangerous to be allowed space.
Farrell acknowledged how he has to play Villalba when he spoke to the media Tuesday: “He’s a great player, and is one of the four, five, six guys in their attacking pieces. I just have to stay tight to him whether it’s when the ball is out wide, get tight to him early, not give him space to run at you. He likes to cut inside and has scored some nice goals the last couple of weeks. So don’t let him get the ball on his right foot and try to keep it on his left.
“It’s about team defense and helping each other out.”
Michael Mancienne agrees; when BostonSportsJournal.com asked him if he thought the Revs’ defensive corps have the speed necessary to handle and keep up with Atlanta’s attacking options, he said, “Yeah, definitely.”
“I hope I’m not slow, and I don’t think any of the other boys are slow, to be honest. I think we’re relatively quick. And sometimes, it’s not about speed: it’s about reading the game. I grew up watching John Terry my whole life, as a young boy… he’s not the quickest at all, but he was one of the best defenders in the world, not because he had blinding pace: it was because of his reading of the game.”
Mancienne was also asked about what the team needs to get over the hump.
“I don’t think there’s anything majorly lacking, to be honest,” he said. “I said this to the boys anyway: it’s a great group of lads, and I don’t think personally that there’s a team that plays better football than us, or is better than us by a mile. I don’t look at (the opponent) and think, ‘Wow, they’re going to absolutely batter us’ or anything like that. It’s how you turn up on the day, the character you come with, the will, the determination, the drive — it’s more of a mental thing. If you turn up on the day and everyone’s at it 110 percent, then I don’t think there are many teams that can beat us.”
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