Atlanta United Squares Off Against Minnesota

Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis figures to be a barn burner as Atlanta United and Minnesota United look to face off in a battle of upstarts. Both squads began their inaugural season in 2017, one with considerably more fanfare than the other.

Atlanta was not only new last year, but good. They reached the postseason and boasted a boisterous crowd that set attendance records for all but one MLS club. Still, many around the league want to know if they’re for real.

Atlanta United vs. Minnesota United

At Mercedes-Benz Stadium, AUTD players are focused on the task at hand. “I don’t know that [our goals] have changed, they’ve just maybe gotten a little bit loftier,”  technical director Carlos Bocanegra told ESPN. “The realistic goal and challenge is to be in that conversation and be challenging for the Cup every year.”

The Minnesota club stands in utter contrast to the immediate success experienced by Atlanta.

“We are a long, long way from where I want — and where the club wants — us to be,” Minnesota coach Adrian Heath was quoted by ESPN FC as saying. “That is just the reality of where we are at this point in time. We live in a here-and-now world. Everybody wants to go on reality TV and be a star overnight. Nobody wants to put in the work that takes years.”

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Atlanta’s Josef Martinez is No. 1 in the league in goals scored (four) and Miguel Almiron is tops in shot attempts (22). That bodes well for the Five Stripes.

Last season, Atlanta beat Minnesota in its home-opener 6-1, something they’re trying to avoid this time around.

 “It was samba football, just everybody wanting to attack and press forward without the right kind of balance,” midfielder Rasmus Schuller told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “And playing a team like Atlanta that has loads of talent up front, and people running behind the line, you get exposed. And that’s kind of what happened last season. So we don’t want to do that again.”
Atlanta is coming from a week off after winning back-to-back matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Now, they head up north for what promises to be a fairly frigid evening.

Here’s how to keep up with the match

vs. 7:30 p.m. ET | LIVE FOX Sports South FOX Sports GO

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Source: AtlantaFi

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Tee Johnson: Tee Johnson is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AtlantaFi.com, Atlanta’s independent hyper-local publication focused on news, restaurants, events, jobs, neighborhoods, and lifestyle. A 15+ year Atlanta resident and longtime journalist and content creator, she covers Travel News, Events, Business, Hair Care, and Money with a practical, Atlanta-first lens. Before launching the site, Johnson worked as a substitute teacher in Atlanta Public Schools and later in corporate roles at Home Depot’s Vinings offices. A marketer by training with a degree in business management, she grew frustrated with the fragmented, hard-to-find information about what was actually happening in the city. That gap led her to create AtlantaFi as a curated, one-stop resource for the pulse of Atlanta—#ATLHAPS—without the national noise. Editorial decisions remain independent; the publication does not accept products, meals, or services in exchange for coverage. As Editor-in-Chief, she oversees original local reporting and curated practical guides that help residents, visitors, and businesses discover and engage with the city. Readers turn to her work for timely event roundups, dining and neighborhood insights, business and travel updates, and straightforward money and lifestyle coverage grounded in firsthand observation of Atlanta. A devoted lover of all things Atlanta, Tee enjoys pickleball, a good margarita or bourbon, and walking the Atlanta Beltline. She can be reached for editorial inquiries at tjohnson@atlantafi.com (serious inquiries only).
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