MLS Cup Final: Atlanta United vs Portland Timbers 

At the end of this competition, Atlanta United faced with Portland Timbers. The MLS Cup final had a very special flavour, as Tata Martino”s man marched to there for the first time with quite ease. Secondly, now they have the opportunity to win it for the first time, in addition, in their home stadium.

Now, in this analysis, I will focus on Atlanta gameplan and their point of view. How they managed to win it with a smooth 2-0 victory.

Narratives before the match were quite simple due to Atlanta’s strong chances of winning and the opponent’s role as an underdog. Thus the only big question was before the final, will Portland able to make difficult for Atlanta?

Atlanta’s structure

First, let’s take a look at how Atlanta’s system worked. Tata Martino used several formations throughout the campaign. Nevertheless, he stuck to the 3-5-2 system during the playoffs. Since it is a flexible and adaptable system it can apply to every situation. It capable of dominant play and when it needed they could form a more defensive set-up with ordering the wingbacks into the first line.

In possession, the back three launch the progression, mostly by Larentowicz (or Perez) who had played as a defensive midfielder earlier in this season. Remedi usually remains back to give coverage between the attacking and defensive units, whilst the other two of the midfield trio, Gressel and Nagbe push further up in the field as a flexible #8s. For occupying positions in the halfspaces. Almiron tends to drop between them for creating a better connection. Martinez at the top of this formations since the positioning in the opposite defensive line. In the wingbacks’ role, Garza and Escobar acting. Duties to hugging the touchlines and running up down.

There were not any surprises in the line-ups since both coaches put their best possible XI into the field. Atlanta played in their usual 3-5-2, whilst Portland formed up in a 4-2-3-1 with a double pivot in the midfield. The main question in the tactical side was how will Giovanni Savarese’s man compete with Atlanta’s structure?

In every defensive formation, there are exploitable open spaces. This is what the opposite team try to targeting and take advantage of it. In Portland’s structure, you find these spaces next to the double pivot, outsides of Chara and Guzman. This exactly the same zone where Garza and Escobar positioning. Thus it is an obvious choice for coach Martino to take advantage of the wider structure.