It’s the start of a brand new month, and Red Bull looks to get back to winning way as they look to jump-start their season when they travel down to the “Peach State” to take on Atlanta United.
Looking back at how they fared in March, Red Bull closed out the month undefeated. Unforuetently they only won one game while drawing the other three. While it did feel like the team underperformed, Red Bull did end up picking up points in every game.
Now heading into April, Red Bull has a very favorable schedule. To start, they get to host western conference sides San Jose (April 9th) and Houston (April 15th), before heading to the windy city to go head-to-head with Chicago (April 29th). All three teams did not make the playoffs in 2022. Red Bull also meets Montreal (April 22nd), who is one of the worse teams in the league this season.
But before we get ahead of ourselves and look into Red Bull’s future, let’s recap Gerhard Struber and his boy’s past couple of games that have them currently sitting in tied for 8th place with six points.
Red Bull Gets First Victory in Comeback Fashion Against Columbus
Two weeks ago, against the Columbus Crew, Red Bull pulled off a comeback victory at Red Bull Arena. They went down early thanks to a miscommunication between Andres Reyes and Carlos Coronel. Alexandru Matan picked up the loose ball and rolled it into the back of the net.
Red Bull turned it around coming out for the second half. Corey Burke with his physicality forced a turnover in midfield and raced toward the box. The Jamaican got a shot off with the rebound falling right to the foot of Luquinhas who had an easy tap-in.
Pushing for a winner late in the game, Cristian Casseres picked out JMi running in behind the defense and lobbed the ball over the Crew defense. One bounce later, JMi crossed the ball the first time to the back post which found a wide-open Dante Vanzeir.
As the stadium looked on in agony, the Belgian calmly and cooly tucked home his first career MLS goal. Vanzeir’s goal in the 86′ eventually was the game-winner, helping Red Bull secure all three points.
VAR Benefits Charlotte, Red Bull Held to a Draw
One week later Red Bull faced Charlotte FC in one of the most physical MLS games of the early season. The home side should have received two red cards. First in 23’ when Brandt Bronico cleated Omir Fernandez halfway up his leg. Fast forward to the second half, Derrick Jones would elbow Cameron Harper in the face while going up for an aerial duel. VAR deemed neither warranted a red.
On a positive note, Elias Manoel opened the scoring, muscling his defender off the ball and then clinically finishing past the goalie at the near post. With Brazilian opened his account in 2023 as he aims for the 15-goal mark by year’s end.
Woefully Red Bull couldn’t hold onto the lead with Charlotte getting an equalizer off Andres Reyes’s own goal. Reyes attempted to clear the ball as it was crossed to Enzo Copetti at the back post, but the Colombian un-luckily knocked it past Coronel.
With the draw, Red Bull finished the month of March with zero losses but was only able to pick up just six points out of a possible 12.
Match Day 6: Atlanta United
Heading into April, Red Bull gets a stiff test having to play Atlanta United down in the Mercedes Benz Stadium. Red Bull does have history on their side. In the regular season since Atlanta came into the league in 2017, Red Bull is undefeated.
Red Bull does pick up some much-needed reinforcements with Cristian Casseres and Corey Burke both returning from their respective national teams. Both are projected to return to the XI. Manager Gerhard Struber said he is “very happy’ to have both Casseres & Burke back.
“We know how big the impact can be when we have the quality from them in our Starting XI and Cory [Burke] with his outstanding intensity for what he can work against the ball and also in transition moments, he can be very unpredictable to defend and Cristian [Casseres Jr.] is in both directions important. A counter presser, a prototype of a counter press in our world of football, and we are very happy that they are back.”
With that in mind, here’s how Struber is projected to line up on the road in Atlanta.
Five Stripes Scouting Report
Onto the Atlanta side of things, they were on a heater to start the season before running into a brick wall in Columbus, losing 6-1. Before that, Atlanta put up eight goals in two games against Portland and Charlotte.
The “Five Stripes” are led by World Cup winner Thiago Almada who was recently named MLS POTM for February/March after recording 4 goals and four assists in the first four games of the season. Almada is the first player in MLS history to accomplish that feat, with the team going 3-1-0 in that span.
Red Bull has already faced three of the best players in the league, facing Facundo Torres, Hany Mukhtar, and Lucas Zelarayan. All three players combined for just four shots, just two on target and one goal, which was from the penalty spot.
Through the first five games of the season, Red Bull set an MLS defensive record by allowing just seven shots on target. Adding to this key stat, Red Bull owns the two BEST center backs this season in challenges won. Sean Nealis leads the way with 62 challenges won with Andres Reyes just behind his partner with 61.
Red Bull’s defense is up to the challenge according to left-back JMi. “In order to have a strong team it has to start from the back. They [Atlanta] have a strong attack, so you’ll see what we’re all about. It should be a good match.”
This game will feature the second-best offense in the league in Atlanta (2.4 GF/GP) going up against one of the best defenses in the league in Red Bull (.8 GA/GP & 7 shots allowed). This game is sure to be one of the best games in MLS on match day 6.
Prediction
This match-up between Atlanta and Red Bull is going to be a tough prediction to make. Atlanta when they have their full XI is a dangerous bunch. Red Bull has been very solid at the back this season, even up against tough opposition, but Almada is a step above the rest in MLS. If Nealis and the rest of the backline can keep Almada off the board, Red Bull has a chance to walk out of Mercedes Benz with points.
Going forward is a different type of test for this team. Red Bull is near the bottom of the league in average possession with 44% and big chances created with just four this season, good for 24th out of 29 teams.
Atlanta is going to want to own the ball. If and when Red Bull can force turnovers in midfield and put Atlanta on the back foot, they need to take advantage and punish the home side. Scoring the first goal is going to be massive in this game.
If Red Bull wants to come out of Atlanta with a positive result like in recent years, they must finish any chance they create in the attacking third. If not, JMi and the defense are going to need to defensive performance of their lives against an attack of Almada, Luiz Araujo, Georgios Giakoumakis, Caleb Wiley, and many others to make it out the state of Georgia with points.
Score Prediction: 2-2 draw (Goals by Burke & Casseres)
Availability Report
Game Information
- Who: Atlanta United (3-1-1, 10 Pts) vs Red Bull New York (1-3-1, 6 Pts)
- When: March 4th, 7:30 EST
- Where: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
- How to Watch: MLS Season Pass- Apple TV+
If you’ve made it this far, check out my recent article previewing Red Bull II’s season. The team is now in MLS Next PRO and opened their 2023 season with a gut-wrenching draw at MSU Soccer Park last weekend. Stop by one of the games this year with the entire family, with tickets for just $10. Come see some of the future stars that will suit up at Red Bull Arena one day.
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