Two weeks after kicking off the 2024 campaign, Atlanta United finally returns to the pitch for their second match of the season when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday.
Atlanta (0-1-0, 0 points) opened the season with a 1-0 loss to the Columbus Crew Feb. 24 followed by an early bye week last week. The time off allowed the club extended time to prepare for their next tilt.
"We focused on us and what we can do to improve certain positions for different actions and things that we might see in the game against New England, so we trained on that," defender Brooks Lennon said.
Atlanta United finished second in the league last season with 66 goals, one behind the MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew. They scored 18 goals at home over the final four months of the regular season, outscoring opponents 18-8 in that stretch.
Striker Giorgos Giakoumakis led the Five Stripes with 17 goals last season in 27 matches, earning MLS Newcomer of the Year honors.
The Revolution (0-2-0, 0 points) arrive in Atlanta on short rest after a 4-0 win against Costa Rican side LD Alajuelense in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16, their third victory in tournament play.
In MLS play, New England is eyeing its first victory after falling 1-0 to Toronto FC a week ago and dropping its opener 3-1 to D.C United on Feb. 24.
Despite the lack of results through the early MLS calendar, coach Caleb Porter likes what he's seen from his squad.
"For us, it's a great result, especially considering that we had one prep day and a quick turnaround," Porter said. "That's five games (across all competitions) for us and we've won three of them, and the other two league games we played very well.
"I think our guys showed that even though we haven't won in the league, we're very confident still. These guys believe in the way we're doing things and the approach that we have."
Tomas Chancalay scored twice from the striker position in the match against Alajuelense. Chancalay had six goals in 11 MLS matches last season, his first season in the league.
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