Atlanta United unable to conquer New York Red Bulls in MLS tourney opener

Photo: 7/11 Atlanta United vs New York Red Bulls in round one match in Orlando at Wide World of Sports • Media credit Matt Stith & Jared Martinez

Atlanta United fell to New York Red Bulls 1-0 in its opening match of the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports on Saturday in Orlando.

Not the result we wanted. Back for more Thursday. pic.twitter.com/Xlv46ihU4A

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) July 12, 2020

The upset cracked Atlanta United’s streak of consecutive games with a goal at 27.

Highlights from Orlando. pic.twitter.com/lNWUEx1aXq

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) July 12, 2020

“ We had our chances, but it’s a tough opponent for us. They play a style that’s still suitable for us because we created room for ourselves. But when you are especially not really alert in some situations, they have a lot of men directly in front of our goalie.” said Coach Frank de Boe on what makes New York Red Bulls a difficult challenge for Atlanta United. “They showed that two or three times and suddenly were in on our goalkeeper, and we have to understand that we need to do better in those situations.”

Atlanta is now 0-1-0 (0 points) in the MLS is Back Tournament. The top two teams in Group E automatically qualify for the knockout rounds, while the top four third-place finishers will also qualify. Atlanta continues group play against FC Cincinnati on Thursday, July 16 9:00 a.m. In regular season play, Atlanta moves to 2-1-0, (6 points).

Stay tuned for more updates and coverage of Atlanta United play in the MLS is Back Tournament