I didn't see the RSL game and can't comment if the show yesterday was worse than that, but it really was below the normal NYCFC level. The team couldn't handle even the basics, never mind more sophisticated build-ups.
And yet Atlanta were mostly lucky during their three-goal spree. The first was a result of slack defending. I think both Ring and Lopez should have tracked back quicker. Most goals are scored from inside the box, and that's were you need bodies between the ball and the goal.
Before that the linesman had twice wrongly flagged for offside when NYCFC went forward. The second goal looked like an offside at first, but highlights showed that it probably wasn't. It was yet again bad defending, and there I think Chanot misread the situation and let Villalba into a scoring position.
Anyone who's played the game knows that at that point Johnson should have got a tactical "injury", just to stop the play for several minutes, and to help the team get out of the shambles that it was turning into. Alas, he didn't, and Callens shat himself completely for the third. Without that goal, there could still have been a chance.
The second half wasn't really much better, although the consolation goal was nicely built up from the defense up until the execution. Harrison's finishing was with one word sublime.
Moralez had a stinker, it was perhaps the worst I have seen from him. Sweat had his moment (crossing for the goal) but he plays in the wrong league, fullstop. White was clumsy, but subbing him by RJ Allen was daft. Allen was a running disaster. Wallace couldn't control the ball, and Villa looked tired and uninspired. I don't know whether Lopez really has the quality to play on this level, but if he does, he didn't show it yesterday. Quite the opposite, he was a no-show throughout the game. To complete the miserable day, Johnson didn't spread any self-confidence in his fellow players. Better not mention Callens.
Harrison at least tried, and Chanot was basically ok. Ring didn't really let anyone down, and made several important interceptions, but his long balls were wayward and to no use. After the Atlanta goals, he looked really pissed-off, and swayed his scythe on Almirón in total frustration. I don't envisage any violence, but it nearly made me smile to see that tackle, although it meant a booking and a suspension, and later on in the game Almirón retaliated with a bad tackle, which the referee overlooked. That could have caused a bad injury, because Almirón hit Ring's instep recklessly from behind.
The White/Allen substitution underlined Vieira's managerial performance yesterday. Don't want to say anything else about his game "plan" - there hardly was any.
And the last comment is on the referee: I wonder if it's possible to see as poor and inconsistent refereeing display anymore during the whole season. I doubt it.