It was a whirlwind start to Atlanta United’s third season, with fixture congestion and constant travel a little bit of a grind that ended up showing in the results. Fortunately, the first international break of the season came at the perfect time for the Five Stripes.
“We had a little more time to prepare,” Julian Gressel said this week. “That break always helps in terms of getting certain ideas across the right way instead of rushing things in a two-day lead-up to the game. I feel quite a bit fresher, so that’s nice."
Six matches in eighteen days was a tough start coming off a short preseason, and combined with all the travel involved, it drained the team for the final stretch.