What to know about Atlanta United before Columbus Crew first-round MLS playoff series
The Crew officially secured their path in the 2023 MLS playoffs Saturday: getting a No. 3 seed and home-field advantage in the best-of-three first round of the postseason.
After the Crew’s 2-1 victory against CF Montreal Saturday, that’s where Darlington Nagbe's focus was.
“Now it’s focus on the next team, the next opponent and whatever is in our way,” Nagbe said. “We are where we are because of the work we put in this season.”
The Crew have a familiar opponent in their way with a first-round matchup against Atlanta United between Oct. 28-Nov. 12.
Here are three things you need to know about Atlanta before the Crew’s first-round matchup.
How have the Crew done against Atlanta United in 2023?
The Crew have seen both high and low moments against Atlanta in 2023
While both teams had many players absent due to either international leave or injury, the Crew made a statement at home against Atlanta in March, getting the 6-1 win with a two-goal performance by Christian Ramirez and scores from Aidan Morris, Philip Quinton, Jacen Russell-Rowe and Max Arfsten.
While it was early in his tenure with the Crew and without players like Cucho Hernandez, who was sidelined with a knee injury, Wilfried Nancy said after the five-goal victory that he saw a “big difference” in his team’s approach and attitude.
"I believe in our players," Nancy said. "It’s all about the task — what we have to do when we have the ball, when we don’t have the ball. It’s all about the concept. And today, the fact that we have been working well, everybody accepted that. Today was a good reward for that."
The Crew’s second meeting with Atlanta led to another road collapse.
Heading into extra time with a 1-0 lead, a Kevin Molino foul led to a free-kick score by Miles Robinson to secure a 1-1 tie in the Crew’s final road match of the regular season.
“I think that every game we play, we’re better than the opponent,” Julian Gressel said after the tie Oct. 7. “Every coach comes up to our coach after and he goes, ‘You’re awesome, the way you play.’ At the end of it, you don’t have anything to show for it. And that’s the difficult part. That’s the stuff that frustrates us.”
Overall, the Crew have seven wins in 14 meetings against Atlanta. The Crew have not lost to Atlanta at home since Aug. 7, 2021.
How did Atlanta United do in 2023?
After missing the playoffs in 2022, Atlanta United is back in the playoff picture in 2023.
Atlanta finished as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference after posing a record of 13-9-12. Of Atlanta’s 13 wins this season, 10 came at home.
Atlanta finished the 2023 regular season with ties against the Crew and Cincinnati after losing to Philadelphia Oct. 4. Atlanta’s most recent win came in a 4-1 home win against Montreal Sept. 23.
Offensively, Atlanta is led by Giorgos Giakoumakis, who is tied for second in MLS with 17 goals in 27 games. Midfielder Thiago Almada, who is in his second season with Atlanta, leads the team with 19 assists.
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan has allowed 39 goals in 27 games, posting a 61% save percentage.
Atlanta is second behind Columbus in goals scored in the Eastern Conference with 66. Atlanta has allowed 53 goals in 34 games: third most in MLS behind Toronto and Miami.
Julian Gressel, Darlington Nagbe have history with Atlanta United
For Nagbe and Gressel, another series between the Crew and Atlanta means another set of games against their old club.
Gressel spent the first three seasons of his MLS career with Atlanta, scoring 15 goals and 35 assists in 96 games between 2017-19.
Nagbe spent two seasons in Atlanta with Gressel from 2018-19 and scored two goals and seven assists in 56 games.
Gressel and Nagbe won an MLS Cup with Atlanta in 2018, beating the Portland Timbers 2-0 for the league title in the team’s second season in MLS.
In six seasons, Atlanta has won five playoff games in four postseason berths.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What to know about Atlanta United before Columbus Crew MLS playoff series
