NEW YORK – Entering their first two-game week of the season, the goal for New York City FC was simple: six points.
They are halfway there following a comprehensive 4-0 win over Real Salt Lake Wednesday night. But now comes the difficult part – Sunday's visit to Atlanta United at colossal Mercedes-Benz Stadium (6 pm ET | FS1 – full TV & streaming info).
The Five Stripes have been dominant at their sparkling new home in 2018, scoring 12 goals in three lopsided victories after going 5-1-2 there last year after it opened in September.
But don’t expect Patrick Vieira to change his focus, or his plan. NYCFC (5-0-1) are coming for all three points.
Patrick Vieira and Maxi Moralez | USA Today Sports Images
“Why not? I think it’s important for us to stick to our principles and philosophy and we will need to be well organized. We’re going to go there and try to perform,” Vieira said. “Then the level of our performance will dictate if we will win the game or not. We will go there with the same philosophy. We’re going to go there to try to play as best as we can and see what’s going to happen.”
Vieira insists his lineup selections Wednesday had nothing to do with looking ahead at Atlanta (4-1-0), who have won four straight matches after a stunning 4-0 loss in Houston in Week 1. A deeper roster, though, allowed him to bring David Villa (lower body) and Alex Ring (knee) off the bench in the second half for their first minutes in about a month.
“When you look at the way Ismael [Tajouri-Shradi], Jesus [Medina], even Jo [Inge Berget] work, David missed a few games, but he came on and worked really hard,” Vieira said. “This is what I want and what I expect from the players. Their job is to make it difficult for me to choose the starting XI.”
And that’s the quandary for Vieira in the coming days – one that he loves. Certainly Villa and Ring, if completely healthy, will be in the starting lineup. But will it be Ben Sweat or Ronald Matarrita, who was very good in his first start of the season Wednesday night? Will we see red-hot Tajouri-Shradi or the return of Rodney Wallace? Or perhaps Berget, who played on the left side of the attack in Malmo, is an option there?
“I will have to be honest with the players like always,” Vieira said. “It’s going to be a tough decision I would make, but I’m always going to think about the team before thinking about individual.”
