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It’s become a running joke on social media the last few weeks to call every bad Atlanta United performance the “worst in team history” given the fact that history is now just nine matches old. But, it’s possible we could look back one, two, three years from now at the 3-1 loss to NYCFC on Sunday and still think it’s in the running for such a dubious honor. It was that bad.
Outplayed in nearly every facet of the match — even Atlanta’s lone goal would have to be considered against the run of play — Tata Martino was blunt in his post-match assessment of the poor performance. (Quotes provided by official Atlanta United quote sheet.)
“Today there was nothing positive to takeout. We were outplayed by a superior team.”
“We played poorly all game. Even when we scored, it came from a volley from midfield. The other team outplayed us and deserved to win today. They played with more intensity at the point of attack and controlled the ball better than us.”
It could be argued that the final scoreline was extremely generous for Atlanta. They could’ve easily given up two or three more goals. And if not for Carlos Carmona’s nice goal that came against the run of play, they could’ve been held off the scoresheet.
Bad performances happen throughout the season. Even losing streaks like the one Atlanta is on right now happen. It’s about how the team finds a way to snap out of it. They’ve had their fair share of good performances — some of which didn’t result in wins — so, it’s not fair to judge them based on a poor run of form. It’s still very early in the season with a lot more twists and turns to come.