At the beginning of the season, as folks around Atlanta United looked ahead at their schedule for 2025, this stretch was one of the first to stand out. Now, it's here, and it's more crucial than ever.
By the time they next suit up at home, the 5-Stripes will have play six consecutive road matches. It's no simple stretch, and it's also a bit of history for the club. Atlanta United has never played six straight matches on the road in the MLS season. The closest they've gotten is four, which happened in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Atlanta United found their stride at home this past week, with a 4-2 win over Eastern Conference contenders FC Cincinnati and a last-minute 3-2 comeback win against Orlando City SC. The results were abound with energy, inside and outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It felt, after the Orlando result May 28, the 5-Stripes were on the right path to reviving their season.
Their first effort of the road trip, though, fell flat. Atlanta United suffered a 2-0 loss to New York Red Bulls May 31. Head coach Ronny Deila made it clear that his squad can't accept what happened Saturday night, but he also took a step back and said he'd accept six points from the last three matches.
"I believe we are on the way forward," Deila said. "Now we get a break, some get to rest a little bit, others get an opportunity to go away and [be in] another environment. It's most important that when we come back again that we are coming together at once. We push forward again from where we are. We are getting better, but we are still not at the level we need to be to get to the playoffs."
The international break is a valuable reset for the 5-Stripes, as there's not much margin for error when they return. Atlanta United sits in 13th place in the Eastern Conference at the exact halfway point of their regular season. They're averaging one point per match, a rate that won't cut it for their aspirations of making the playoffs much less their previously referenced top-four ambitions.
If their current road form continues — no wins, two draws and five losses — this stretch of road matches could make a late playoff run even more difficult. But if the 5-Stripes do turn it around away from home, a late push could absolutely be in the cards, as they'll play seven of their last 12 regular season games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
"I think we have found a system that suits the players," Deila said. "Now, it's about consistency and training relations. We have to score more goals away ... but you cannot concede two goals every game. That's impossible. We [make] too many simple mistakes."
It does start in defense, where Atlanta United has conceded 30 goals this season, third-most in MLS. In particular it's errors and giveaways in their own defensive third that are dooming them. The 5-Stripes turned the ball over deep in their half to give Red Bulls a goal, and a failed clearance led to one against Orlando.
The return of center back Stian Gregersen will be much anticipated, as he's missed nearly two months now with a quad injury. The international break will give him more time to get fit for when the 5-Stripes return to MLS play. His pace and one-on-one tackling bring defensive playmaking to the Atlanta United backline, something they're missing on a consistent basis.
A lot of eyes are also on the two up top, Miguel Almirón and Emmanuel Latte Lath, who haven't produced in front of goal in the last few matches. Latte Lath thought he had his first goal since March 29 in the 58th minute of the Red Bulls match, but it was called back for offsides. Neither of them have found the back of the net since Miguel Almirón's goal against Nashville SC May 3.
Almirón and Latte Lath will both be off to their national teams this week, a great chance for them to reset and come back to their club with conviction.
"We want them to go and do well and stay healthy," Brad Guzan said after the Red Bulls match. "Hopefully they can go get some confidence, whether that's assists, goals, just playing and bring that back to us."
Throughout the club, the standard is high. Players and coaches said the same thing after the wins against Cincinnati and Orlando and the loss to New York.
"It's not the end of the world," Guzan said. "But again, as I said after we won in the midweek, we still need to be better. We need to grow in all areas of the game. "
Atlanta United will start five-straight road matches after the break with the other New York squad. NYCFC will host the 5-Stripes in an unusual Thursday match June 12. Many players will be returning from their travels and heading straight to the Big Apple. Deila said Saturday that there's a chance some of the international call ups won't be able to play in that game for fitness reasons. He doesn't expect his team to be any less competitive no matter who plays.
"We are improving. We're going to get better," Deila said. "When we come back again now, it's about full energy into what we're going to do here. We really have an opportunity to do something this season ... you never know what's [going to] happen in autumn."
