Atlanta United snatched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference Saturday with a gritty win over fourth-place Orlando City SC at Inter&Co Stadium. It took two early goals and a quality performance from longtime captain Brad Guzan, plus a couple of other results to go Atlanta's way, but Atlanta United's point total reached 40 on the season, enough to climb over the playoff line and clinch a postseason berth for the sixth time in club history and the second straight season.
Their first playoff test of 2024 arrives just three days later in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Wild Card game. And Atlanta United faces a team -- and a striker -- they know very well. As the No. 9 seed, Atlanta United will play 8-seed CF Montréal and striker Josef Martínez on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at Stade Saputo.
On Monday, our two MLS Team of the Matchday honorees met with the media to preview the matchup. Here are a few things Guzan and interim head coach Rob Valentino brought up about Tuesday’s playoff meeting:
Expect a different Atlanta United side than the previous meeting
Tuesday’s opponent is one not far from the mind of Atlanta United. The two teams met twice this season on July 13 at Stade Saputo and October 2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. CF Montréal won both meetings.
The most recent match seems relevant heading into Tuesday. It kicked off just three weeks ago on October 2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The result was a tough home loss for Atlanta and felt like a potential harbinger of an MLS postseason without Atlanta United.
“One of our worst performances. That part wasn’t acceptable,” Guzan said Monday. “I don’t even think you can really analyze the soccer side of it because the application was so poor and so ultimately affecting the performance.”
Things turned out differently, as we know, and for the better. While that performance, at that moment, felt detrimental to Atlanta United’s playoff hopes, the team bounced back. The loss did not eliminate Atlanta from playoff contention, but it did create must-win situations in their next two matches.
You know the rest. Atlanta United answered the call massively, beating a tough Red Bulls team 2-1. Then, the group came out on the front foot against Orlando City SC on Decision Day, beating the hottest team in the Eastern Conference 2-1 on the road.
If the last two results are a sign of the team Atlanta is going into Tuesday’s matchup, expect this Eastern Conference Wild Card showdown to be a battle.
“A lot’s changed to where we are now,” Guzan said.
The team is aware of the Josef Martínez factor
In Atlanta's most recent loss to Montréal, Martínez, in his first season at CF Montréal, scored a brace at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to lead his team to a 2-1 win over his former club, where he still holds the all-time scoring title.
The brace arrived in true Martínez fashion, and he leads CF Montréal in scoring on the season with 11 goals. He also scored in Montréal’s 2-0 win Saturday over New York City FC that clinched their own berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Atlanta United knows Martínez well. They’ve played against him twice this season in the two meetings (he came on in the 89th minute as a sub in the first matchup). Of course, if anyone on the Atlanta side hasn’t played with him or coached him directly, we’ve all seen him play during his seven years with Atlanta United.
“You have to be hyper-alert with him because he’s sneaky,” Valentino said. “He thinks he’s really sneaky when he’s behind your backline, and then he moves into attack. Moments when you think he’s not really defending or just walking around, he is really alert. He’s got a goal-scoring mentality.”
Defensive alertness will be integral for Atlanta United on Tuesday to shut down Martínez. For as alert as he is as a player, and as much as he likes to lurk near or behind the backline, Atlanta United must keep an eye on him. Sloppy defending on a set piece, he can find it – or he can draw attention that will open up young defenders around him.
As Guzan put it bluntly:
“We’ll keep an eye on him.”
Atlanta United is coming off back-to-back road wins for the first time since June
The format for MLS Cup Playoffs brings an added feeling of urgency, especially for Atlanta, who will be playing their opening match on the road. The Wild Card game is single elimination. With no added time, if the match is tied at the end of regulation, the match will go on straight to penalty kicks.
“Going into tomorrow, it’s do or die,” Guzan said. “Everything’s on the line. We can’t have a repeat performance and a repeat of application. One, because that’s well below our standard. Two because, if we do, we’ll be out.”
Another aspect significant trending positively in Atlanta’s direction is the success the team has found on the road, especially during the last third of the season. Atlanta's gotten results in five of their last six road matches, starting with the 1-0 win at Charlotte FC on August 31.
Whether there’s a secret formula for this group and how they approach playing away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Guzan is coy to share. But it just proves how this group seems to embrace playing in underdog moments.
“We’ve had our backs against the wall for the last few weeks, so every game has felt a bit of a playoff game in terms of having to perform, having to get a result. Now, we have to go and do it again,” Guzan said.
History proves anything can happen in the MLS Cup Playoffs
While the results Saturday created a night of joy and accomplishment for an Atlanta squad that defied the odds – the mathematical probability of the club making the playoffs was 10 percent heading into Decision Day – the team doesn’t have much time to celebrate or catch their breath. Just three days separate Decision Day from the Eastern Conference Wild Card game. As excited as Atlanta United is to clinch a playoff berth, the team had to quickly turn the page to prepare for Montréal.
Now, it comes down to a single-elimination match. If Atlanta United wins Tuesday, they'll move on to Round One, a Best-of-3 series against No. 1 seed Inter Miami CF. But first, like their approach on Decision Day, the team will need to not think too far ahead or too beyond their own task. They'll need to take care of business on the road at Stade Saputo. Because they don’t expect that to be easy.
“From our standpoint, we’re going into a hostile environment in Montréal,” Guzan said. “We’re going up there with the idea that it’s going to be a fight. It’s going to be tough, and it’s going to be hard. All the things you expect in a playoff game. And that part’s exciting.”
As the No. 9 seed, it may seem like a long shot for Atlanta United to advance far in the playoffs. But as Guzan put it, once playoffs start it’s a “whole new mini-season,” and Atlanta has as much of a chance as anyone else.
And history has shown that it is possible. Earlier in his career, Valentino was part of a Colorado Rapids squad in 2009 that missed out on the MLS Cup Playoffs. Real Salt Lake was the No. 8 seed and took the final playoff spot on Decision Day that year – and they went all the way to win the MLS Cup.
“Anything could happen,” Valentino said.
