Atlanta United is back at home on Wednesday night looking to bounce back from a tough defeat on the weekend. The 5-Stripes lost to Nashville SC 2-0 and were unable to capitalize on the momentum they had before the international break. Things don’t get easier as Supporters Shield leaders Inter Miami CF come to town. Lionel Messi returned to the team after a long injury absence and immediately helped Miami to a 3-1 win against Philadelphia by scoring two goals and adding an assist. In the first meeting between the two sides earlier this season, Atlanta was able to put it all together and deliver its most complete performance of the year in a 3-1 road win. They will look to duplicate that effort on Wednesday. Let’s take a look at the Tools to the Match presented by Home Depot against Inter Miami CF.
Come out with urgency and intensity from the opening whistle
Atlanta United needs to start Wednesday’s match with a sense of urgency and intensity that matches the situation it finds itself in. With only six matches remaining in the regular season, the 5-Stripes find themselves below the playoff line by two points. Every minute, every second of the match is important. Last weekend against Nashville, the team was under pressure from the opening whistle and conceded in the fifth minute. It needs to flip that script on Wednesday and put Miami under pressure. The Herons have proven to be vulnerable in the opening 15 minutes this season as Miami has conceded 10 goals in that period. If Atlanta can come out strong and put Miami under pressure right away, it will increase its chances of coming away with a positive result.
Watch out for the high quality of the supporting cast
Yes, if Lionel Messi plays then all eyes will be on him. Atlanta’s defense will need to execute its defensive gameplan similarly to when Atlanta defeated Messi and company 3-1 in Miami.
But this Inter Miami team has a lot of quality even without Messi on the pitch. They lead the Supporters Shield race by seven points. The team has scored 65 goals, eight more than the second-best team in MLS. In the 15 matches that Miami has played without Messi this season, the team owns a 10-3-2 (W-L-T) record. Luis Suarez leads the team with 17 goals scored. Jordi Alba has recorded 11 assists from his left back position. Julian Gressel has added 12 assists, most of them coming from the right flank. Atlanta’s players will need to make sure they are compact and alert defensively for the full 90 minutes in order to earn a positive result.
Get into more dangerous shooting positions
One of the things Atlanta will work on after the match against Nashville is to get into better shooting positions in the attack. Atlanta’s five shots on target combined for only 0.6 xG. That indicates that several of those shots on target were low-quality scoring chances. They also were only credited with eight key passes on Saturday, one of the lower totals this season. In order to pick up a victory on Wednesday night, the 5-Stripes need to create both higher quantity and higher quality scoring chances against a tough Miami defense. When these two teams met earlier this season, Atlanta recorded a 3.0 xG and had 21 key passes. If itcan duplicate that kind of offensive performance, itwill pick up three crucial points in the playoff hunt.
Fans can tune in on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm ET when the action kicks off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. To hear the action on radio, tune into Sports Radio 92.9 The Game (English) or La Mejor – AM 1600 (Spanish).
