Actually, this was the near perfect game
Last week after a 1-1 draw, Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda called the performance “close to perfection,” a bit of a head scratcher considering the result and some of the underlying metrics left something to be desired. This was the ear perfect game. The Five Stripes dominated in so many aspects, it left the second half feeling rather sleepy as the team salted away the 90 minutes after building up a comfortable 3-0 halftime lead. It was only “near” perfect because of some isolated moments of indecision at the back (Brad Guzan’s command of the box, Purata with a near own goal, some near penalties, etc).