Atlanta United Trashes Sporting KC in the Closing Game of the Round, 0-3

The reigning champions of the MLS finally showed who they really are. Atlanta United defeated Sporting Kansas City on the road, convincingly with 3-0, and indicated that they might bounce back after a slow opening of the campaign.

Frank De Boer’s guys dominated the pitch of Children’s Mercy Park and deserved to take all three point, and even to record a higher win than this one.

The famous Dutch defender, who has four national championships as a manager with his Ajax, was satisfied with the way his players took care of the job in Kansas City.

“I’m very pleased,” De Boer said. “It was a very solid performance. We created our chances. We gave almost nothing away. We were confident on the ball. This is what you want to see, of course, from our team.”

The stars of the match were Josef Martinez and Ezequiel Barco who were involved in all three goals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDVEjqB9cn8&t=3s

Martinez, the current MVP of the league and the Golden Boot winner, netted twice, while the young Barco scored one goal, but set up the other two.

The game didn’t promise too much in the opening minutes, but as time went by, things changed, and slowly, Atlanta began controlling the pace and the tempo of the play.

Martinez broke the lock of Tim Melia in the 39th minute. Barco sent a rocket from outside the box, SKC’s goalkeeper denied it, but the Venezuelan striker was nearby. He didn’t have much trouble of placing the ball into the net.

Barco’s next shot was a jackpot. Just two minutes after the kick-off of the second half, the 20-year old aimed the right lower corner of Melia’s goal, and placed the ball with a laser strike.

“With a little luck, it landed right in front of me. The play was almost dead and I felt comfortable enough to take the shot,” Barco said.

The Argentinian will leave United to join his national U-20 team for the World Cup in Poland. It will be a huge setback for De Boer’s crew because he already scored 4 goals in eight games this season.

“I just want to take advantage of the opportunity,” Barco said. “In times past, I’ve had to pass it up.”

The youngster who came from Independiente last season, assisted Martinez for the third goal of the game, ten minutes after his hit. It was also the fourth score of the season for this teammate.

Sporting was out of the game completely, and the hosts couldn’t do anything except for two solid chances in the last minutes of the first 45 minutes. Their game fell apart entirely after being humiliated in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals. Back then Monterrey beat them 10-2 on aggregate and ever since, Piter Vermes’ boys just can’t find the rhythm.

“We have got to keep working. I don’t have another solution,” Sporting KC coach said at the press conference.

At the moment his team has seven straight matches without a win and is slowly slipping towards the bottom of the Western Conference. Their defensive line is simply under any decent standard of play, allowing 13 goals in the latest four encounters.

Right now, they are 10th in the West, point short of San Jose who is 8th, but with a game in hand.

Atlanta showed some signs of life over the past few weeks, as they recorded three wins in four games. The champs opened the season with four straight events in which they haven’t won, and were eliminated from the Champions League, also against Monterrey, who later won the competition.

But now, they seem better. Barco’s temporary departure might be something which could hurt them, but in the long run, this crew has the potential to make big things.

United is 9th in the East but with two games fewer than most of the teams, and if they win them both, They could easily make top 3. The first upcoming match is already this Wednesday against another favorite for the title, Toronto FC, and it will be played in Georgia.

SKC travels to Washington to face DC United on Sunday.