Sebastian Lletget, LA Galaxy Outlast Minnesota United

Sebastian Lletget, LA Galaxy Outlast Minnesota United 3-2

These teams were in different states going into this match. The Galaxy lost on the road at FC Dallas last week without their star attackers in a lackluster performance. Serious questions were being asked of the back line. The Loons were coming off two road wins against Western Conference opponents that saw them put up good offensive numbers.

In this one, the Galaxy started off on the front foot, going at goal with every opportunity that appeared. All that hard work led to Uriel Antuna drawing a penalty in the 34th minute. Midfielder Jonathan dos Santos stepped up scored, sending goalkeeper Vito Mannone the wrong way.

The Galaxy doubled their advantage five minutes later on a 22 pass sequence, with some great work in the box. Ultimately Rolf Feltscher finding Chris Pontius in front of goal, who awkwardly chested the ball over the line. The half ended 2-0.

Minnesota got within one in the 74th minute. Jan Gregus fired a hard shot at goalkeeper David Bingham who couldn’t direct the rebound properly and the ball ended up in the bottom corner. This was after some great passing by the Minnesota midfield near the touchline. Sebastian Lletget scored his first goal of the season in the 81st minute on a fabulous round-house-kick-like volley off a cross from Antuna.

After a poor turnover by Jorgen Skjelvik, Abu Danladi headed a cross off the post that was tapped in by Angelo Rodríguez. The match ended 3-2.

Three Takeaways:

Goals galore: This match was all about the offense. Both teams had a plethora of chances.

Galaxy survive: The Galaxy surrendered both goals when they had a two goal lead. Given the defensive mistakes, this win probably doesn’t convince the Galaxy community they can win without their attacking DPs. That said, this result is something to build upon in confidence if nothing else.

Minnesota defense can improve: The Loons are a much better side than they were last season and the defense is far better from their expansion year. That said, all three goals conceded in this game saw mistakes. Veteran Ozzie Alonso conceded a PK. The defense let the Galaxy pass through them on the second goal and the marking on the game winner was suspect at best.

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