MARIETTA, Ga. — If Atlanta United’s previous matchups against the highest quality sides are any indication, plenty of goals will be on the cards for the team’s date with NYCFC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Sunday afternoon (3:55 pm ET | ESPN in US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada).
Frank de Boer told reporters Friday that Dome Torrent’s NYCFC side are among the best in MLS, and therefore he expects an entertaining and competitive match between the two teams. Judging from the way Atlanta’s recent matches against MLS Cup contenders LAFC and New York Red Bulls have gone, it wouldn’t be a shock at all to see Sunday’s affair go a similar route.
“NYCFC is a very good team. They have quality players,” De Boer told media Friday. “[Thursday] of course in the last second they won, but still I think it's a team that we have to count on for the MLS [Cup title]...If we can put them six points behind, it would be fantastic because we have to face them also in New York still and they have two games in hand.”
In their match against LAFC in late July, the game was lit by its fuse from the second minute of the match when Atlanta took the lead, and ended in exhilarating, but disappointing, fashion for Five Stripes fans as Atlanta lost 4-3. Similarly, four matches prior, Atlanta hosted a barnburner at the Benz against NYCFC’s Hudson River rivals as the Five Stripes finished level with New York Red Bulls 3-3.
The stark difference this Sunday could see the absence of one of Atlanta’s most important leaders on- and off-the-field in Josef Martinez. The reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP is dealing with a minor groin issue that De Boer says is day-to-day, and his status for Sunday’s game is uncertain. But Atlanta United midfielder Eric Remedi said he still expects the team to create opportunities despite potentially missing the guy who usually finishes them off.
“We know on our team we have a lot of dangerous attacking players like Josef, Pity [Martinez], [Ezequiel] Barco, Julian [Gressel], so if we can win the midfield then we know we're going to create chances and we can be dangerous,” Remedi said through a translator. “With [Darlington] Nagbe, we just talk about trying to control that area of the field because [Nagbe] is very good technically and it's almost impossible for anyone to take the ball from him.”
Missing both Josef Martinez and backup striker Brandon Vazquez against Orlando CIty in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Tuesday, De Boer experimented with a combination of Pity Martinez and Barco together up top. Overall, the tactic worked and Atlanta advanced to the final.
“We cannot have everyone coming to the ball. That's very easy to defend. We are really focusing always on if one goes deep, the other goes high. You want that combination,” said De Boer. “Of course, the difference with Josef is he's always in the right moment. That's his quality. Like [Pippo] Inzaghi in my days, maybe he couldn't keep the ball up four or five times in a row, but he was always on time—like eight times he was offside, but four times he was not offside and he was one-against-one with the goalkeeper. Josef has that quality to always make that run behind in the right moment.”
