Atlanta United is back at home to close out the Group Stage of Leagues Cup 2024. They host Liga MX side Santos Laguna on Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The task is clear for Atlanta. With a victory, either in regulation or in the penalty shootout, Atlanta will advance to the Knockout stage of Leagues Cup. If Santos Laguna secures the victory, they will join D.C. United and advance out of the group. The 5-Stripes battled back from a two-goal deficit against D.C. United last week to secure one point. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the second point as D.C. won the penalty shootout 6-5. Santos Laguna lost 3-0 in their first match at D.C. United in midweek. Let’s take a look at the Tools to the Match presented by Home Depot against Santos Laguna.
Minimize defensive mistakes that lead to goals
While Atlanta scored three goals against D.C. United in regulation, they will look to clean up their defensive mistakes heading into the next match. Two of D.C. United’s goals were lapses in concentration defensively. In the second half, Atlanta’s defense regrouped and held D.C. United without many clear scoring chances. That kind of focus and defensive effort will be needed for the full 90 minutes on Sunday. If Atlanta’s defense can limit their own mistakes and force Santos Laguna to try and outplay them in the attack, they should be in a good position to earn the necessary result to advance into the Knockout stage.
Don’t give time and space to Fagundez and Mariscal in midfield
Santos Laguna is coming off a 3-0 defeat against D.C. United and they will be looking for a complete turnaround. The team only had three shots on goal and an xG value of 0.6 in the opener. After a difficult start to their Liga MX Apertura campaign with only one point from four matches, the pressure is on to deliver in this next match.
The team’s midfield is led by Salvador Mariscal, one of the team's academy products, and Franco Fagundez, who joined the club at the start of the calendar year. The Uruguayan pulls the strings in attack and it will be important for Atlanta’s midfield to shut him down and make Santos Laguna find other ways to attack. The team has struggled with scoring goals in the early part of the season, netting only one goal in four league matches and being shutout in their Leagues Cup opener. Atlanta will be keen on keeping a clean sheet against this side on Sunday afternoon.
Take advantage of strong wing play
Over the past several matches, Atlanta has found sustained success when attacking from both wings. Whether it’s Saba Lobjanidze on the right or Xande Silva on the left, Atlanta continues to create chances from strong wing play. On the right side, Brooks Lennon continues to be one of the more dangerous attacking right backs in the league. He proved that again with a pin-point cross to Daniel Ríos for the opening goal against D.C. United last week. Lennon continues to close in on the club’s all-time assist record. He now has 35 in all competitions for ATL UTD with the record sitting at 39. If Atlanta can continue to take advantage of its speed and combination play on the wing, they will create scoring chances and hopefully finish a few of them to earn the win against Santos Laguna.
Fans can tune in on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 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).
Leagues Cup
All of the clubs from MLS and Liga MX will compete in a completely reimagined Leagues Cup: an annual, month-long tournament that runs from July 26-August 25, 2024.
