Houston, TX. – The LA Galaxy began the first of their three-game away trip with a 3-2 loss to the Houston Dynamo. The result marks the third consecutive loss for the Galaxy.
The two teams exchanged goals throughout the 90-minutes. Unfortunately for the Galaxy, Houston’s Memo Rodriguez headed home a rebound in the 89th minute to seal the match for the Dynamo.
LA Galaxy let down by Poor Defense and Lethargic Attack Once Again
In a game with five total goals, neither team looked impressive. In the second minute, Houston’s Romell Quioto found Alejandro Fuenmayor on a set piece that opened the scoring for Houston. Despite being reviewed by VAR, Fuenmayor’s goal counted as the replay showed Ola Kamara kept him onside as Fuenmayor ran unmarked to the back post.
After half an hour of sloppy play by both sides, Ola Kamara won the ball back in the middle of the field and slipped in Zlatan Ibrahimovic who put his shot on goal from the left side of the box. Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis did well to parry the ball. Fortunately, for the second consecutive game, Giovani dos Santos found the back of the net as he ran onto the rebound and slotted his shot home to even the score at one all.
Another set piece blunder by the Galaxy allowed Romell Quitoto’s free kick to deflect off the foot of Sebastian Lletget and past David Bingham to give Houston a 2-1 lead in just the 47th-minute.
After another 30-minutes of uneven play, the Galaxy switched to a back three. The switch paid off immediately as Zlatan Ibrahimovic found Giovani dos Santos racing down the wing in the 85th-minute. Gio then swung his cross into the path of Ola Kamara who flicked the ball into the corner of the net.
The lead would last only minutes before Houston’s Memo Rodriguez would eventually head in the winner for the Dynamo.
Three Takeaways:
David Bingham looked really bad. On multiple occasions, Bingham allowed Galaxy fans to reminisce about the days of Clement Diop. This isn’t to say any of the goals were actually his fault, though. Despite avoiding culpability on the goals, he made poor decisions to come off his line throughout the game. Bingham is lucky that Houston was unable to finish more of their chances as he generally looked lost in his own box.
The team looked disinterested during large portions of the game. Moreover, the attack found itself stalling often and the LA Galaxy continued to struggle in the midfield. On several occasions, the Galaxy had four players standing in line with Houston’s defenders. Nobody checked to the ball. Nobody looked to make dangerous runs. The Galaxy looked like they had no discernible game plan in the attack. To make things worse, Perry Kitchen routinely struggled to control the ball, and he left the Galaxy defense exposed and chasing Houston’s pacey wingers when he lost possession.
Giovani dos Santos looked like a designated player. He waited 11 months before scoring last weekend against the New York Red Bulls. He didn’t wait that long to score his next goal. In addition to his goal, he assisted Kamara’s goal with an inch-perfect cross. Perhaps the Galaxy’s highest paid player is ready to finally pay dividends. He looked dangerous on the ball all night. Unfortunately, the lack of movement in the Galaxy attack often left him on an island in possession.
