Atlanta United advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with wins both away at New York City FC (1-0) and at home at Mercedes Benz stadium (3-1), for an aggregate score of 4-1.
The first leg was a battle, with Tata Martino setting his team up to primarily stifle the NYCFC attack. But with the lead in hand, Atlanta was then able to play on the counter-attack in the second leg.
In its admittedly short existence, Atlanta had earned a reputation — deservedly in part — as “flat track bullies, a team able to beat up on mid and lower-table teams but unable to beat the top teams or come up with the goods when it counted.