After finishing in second in the league in goals scored in their first year of existence, Atlanta United has taken it another step this year to set the league pace in the goals department so far as we hit the final stretch of the regular season. They’re the only team to score 50 goals so far, so there’s a lot to cheer for in the front line. But how are the Five Stripes doing it?
The first question is “who,” as in who is putting them in the net. Josef Martinez is obviously leading the way in that department, with his 26 goals just one off the single-season league record with ten matches to play. But he’s not the only one putting them in. Miguel Almirón is just two goals away from double digits on his own, while Ezequiel Barco, Tito Villalba, Julian Gressel and Kevin Kratz have 4, 3, 2 and 2 respectively. Greg Garza, Chris McCann and Romario Williams have all chipped in with one each as well.
But scoring is more than a one-man job, so who is setting them up? Obviously many of the goals have come via Martinez, with Tito Villalba and Julian Gressel leading the way with 5 assists each to the Venezuelan forward. Villalba loves getting passes from Miguel Almirón, who has assisted every one of his goals so far this year. And maybe surprisingly to some readers, Martinez has actually assisted Almirón more than the other way around. But most important is the evenness of the service to Martinez –– every attacking player with regular starting minutes has assisted Martinez at least once and none have assisted more than five. As Tata Martino said recently, Martinez may be the one with the final touch but this attack remains a multi-pronged creative threat.
It may come as no surprise that Atlanta United, who has the best penalty box finisher in the league this year, score most of their goals inside the 18 yard box. 45 of the team’s 50 league goals have come inside the penalty box, with Kratz (twice), Almirón and Romario Williams the only ones to score from distance. 43% of the shots that have resulted in goals have come from the right foot, 33% with the left –– and don’t forget the lethal aerial finishing of Josef Martinez and company, with 23% of the season’s goals coming off the head.
Based on the season so far, Atlanta United fans can expect to see about a goal every 45 minutes, so fans may be wondering –– will it last? Making predictions about goals and finishing is never a guarantee, but the underlying numbers show Atlanta United is actually underperforming in the goals department relative to the chances they are creating. So fans can expect plenty of more goals to come in the final stages of the season.
But who needs numbers? Just sit back and enjoy all 50:
