Tactical Analysis on Atlanta United’s 1–0 win over L.D Alajuelense
Gabriel Heinze’s first competitive game with Atlanta United was something that he could not have expected. Despite losing veteran goalkeeper Brad Guzan to a red card before half time and having to play with 10 men with 18 year old Rocco Rios Novo in goal, Atlanta came out 1–0 winners over Costa Rican side Alajuelense in the 1st leg thanks to a controversial penalty from Ezequiel Barco.
This game was interesting from start to finish. We got a first look at how Heinze wants to set up Atlanta United and how they tactically changed in the 2nd half after going down to 10 men. In this article, I take a deeper look on how Atlanta United set up in this match and what tactics Heinze instructed his side to play.
Atlanta lined up in a 3–4–3 formation with Sosa dropping in between of Robinson and Walkes. Ibarra and Hyndman play as the midfield duo.
Their build up consisted of moving the ball between the 3 center-backs until one of them (usually Robinson) would make a run and attempt a pass towards the midfield or out-wide. Sosa would play balls towards the wingbacks if the opportunity appeared.
A constant play that occurred involved playing passes to Lopez who acted as a false 9 and dropped deeper to keep the play going. Dropping down allowed players like Barco and Mulraney to find space between the defense. Ibarra or Hyndman would move forward depending on who dropped from the frontline.
Lopez keeps the ball and would find the runs begin made by Barco, Ibarra, Mulraney and Bello. Sosa would push a bit to provide an assistance in the midfield. If a movement could not be found, the team would rotate possession and wait for an opening or a player making a run.
Heinze’s system always involved the use of creating triangles across the pitch. At his time at Velez Sarsfield, players were instructed to rotate across the pitch in order to keep the shape during transitions to progress the play. Below is an example of what that would look like in the current formation set up.
During attacks, we would see players interchange positions depending on the situation, but moving together in a unit to keep the shape well constructed. Hyndman would push as an inverted forward, Bello stays wide at left wingback and Barco would drop into the midfield to act as that pairing midfield.
Ibarra, despite playing in midfield, covers for Lennon at right wingback. Lennon moves out-wide while Mulraney becomes that inverted winger.
Now we see some rotation across the field. Bello drifts into the midfield while Hyndman now finds himself in the left wingback slot and Barco now is making the run forward. On the right, Lennon now inverts into an inside forward with Mulraney staying out wide with Ibarra covering space left behind by Lennon.
The main idea here is that the shape is still present despite the rotation. A play could occur that would need Bello to come into midfield, so that would mean Hyndman would need to take position on the left to progress the attack in that triangle shape.
Defense:
Atlanta set up in a 5–2–3 in defense. Lopez, Barco and Mulraney would be the initial press on the defense. They would cover surrounding players and attempt to win the ball back from the player in possession. Barco and Mulraney would occasionally drop into the midfield and form a midfield 4. Essentially now becoming a 5–4–1. Lennon and Bello would pressure the wide midfielders once they reached the surrounding area near them.
When down to 10 men, Barco and Lopez looked to stay in what looked like a square between them and Ibarra and Hyndman. Later in the post-match press conference, Heinze explained that he wanted the players to protect the middle of the line between the forwards and midfield from those line breaking passes, so he instructed his players to protect that space. He also added that he wasn’t concerned about the attacks coming from out-wide because of the 5 back line they had.
It’s too early to analyze Heinze’s tactics on Atlanta United, but it’s evident to see that there are changes being made to the team. The team had an emphasis on possession, rotation between players across the field and looked to have a strong mentally when it came to this game. It’s an exciting start for Atlanta United and Heinze. Hopefully we get to see more performances like this without the red card. Atlanta will face L.D Alajuelense for the 2nd leg of the Concacaf Champions League in Fifth Third Bank Stadium on April 13.
