Atlanta United coach can help team win at Yankee Stadium

No one with Atlanta United knows the secret to cracking the diamond that is Yankee Stadium and its Lilliputian pitch better than manager Ronny Deila, whose team will play there Thursday.

Deila managed NYCFC from 2020 through part of 2022, leading the club to the MLS Cup in 2021. The field is smaller because it is squeezed across the outfield and part of the infield inside Yankee Stadium.

“You have to be quicker on the ball,” Deila said. “It’s going to be a more intense game, so reactions (from the) team (are) going to be very important. To be accurate, and dare to play forward is important, and to be very disciplined and organized. That’s the key to the game.”

Many of those things are what Atlanta United hasn’t done well this season, which is partially why it has yet to win a road match (0-5-2). Trying to improve those weaknesses since the team last played on May 31 has been challenging because 10 players, many of them starters, have been out for international call-ups.

But Deila worked with the players who remained to improve its defensive and organizational fundamentals. Atlanta United’s 30 goals allowed is third most in the Eastern Conference and fifth most in the league.

“This week and last week has been really, really focused on each individual player, a little more and just more detail oriented for all of us, so we understand where we’re going wrong and where we need to improve,” defender Matthew Edwards said.

Lots of teams have talked about how to win at Yankee Stadium. Few have.

Atlanta United is 0-3-4 in regular-season meetings in the Bronx. NYCFC is 74-24-32 all-time at Yankee Stadium since joining the league in 2015. It is one of seven teams to have at least six home wins this season. To compare, Atlanta United is 75-31-33 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium since its first season in 2017.

The teams this season have played once, a 4-3 win for Atlanta United on March 29.

Both teams made mistakes that resulted in goals, helping the Five Stripes rally from being two goals behind.

“Let’s hope that they keep on giving away and we take our chances and we get 4-0 instead, that would be fantastic,” Deila said. “But it’s going to be a similar game. NYCFC is a good team, and Yankee Stadium is a special stadium, but at the same time, most of the players has been there before, they know what it’s about.”

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