MLS Winners and Losers: Lionel Messi wakes up to lead Inter Miami comeback, Timo Werner shines – doubts grow over Tata Martino with Atlanta United

Martino preached patience before he took the Atlanta job. The Argentine manager admitted that second acts can be tough, and Atlanta had a lot to work on after undergoing a fairly disastrous 2025 campaign. 

The goal, he insisted, was merely to make the playoffs – which should, frankly, be an absolute minimum for a side that has spent the third most in Major League Soccer in the last 18 months. And sure, there were always going to be some concerns here. Atlanta are lacking in balance, and don’t have much at the back. This team is going to concede goals.

But what they should be able to do, though, is score – a lot. There are very few teams in MLS who have their array of attacking talent, or can boast the individual weapons that the Five Stripes enjoy. Yet through two games, they have failed to find the back of the net. 

On Saturday, they put just one shot on target against a San Jose side that is still figuring itself out. Martino, it would seem, still has plenty of work to do.