CARSON, Calif. (June 2, 2019) – Bruce Arena returned to the StubHub Center (well, Dignity Health Sports Park as of this year) on Sunday afternoon. He ended up with the last laugh as New England Revolution beat the LA Galaxy 2-1.
Bruce Arena Gets New England Revolution win in Return to LA
Bruce Arena’s Revs were the better team for long stretches in this game. The Galaxy didn’t have as much of the ball as they would have liked. The home side also made it too easy for New England to pass through the midfield and get at the backline. New England found success on the counter while the Galaxy had only a few chances, almost all of them for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
After several opportunities in the final minutes of the half, the Revs finally found a goal. Carlos Gil found Cristian Penilla in a wide position. Penilla cut inside to get into the box then shot the ball hard and low. David Bingham got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out of the net.
Things got complicated for the Galaxy in the first half. Sebastian Lletget had to be subbed out for an injury just 10 minutes in. The midfielder was relieved by Chris Pontius and was able to leave the field under his own power.
The Revs doubled their advantage against the run of play in the 60th minute. Gil got upfield quickly with the Galaxy not tracking back. He found Teal Bunbury between the center backs. Bunbury broke away and beat Bingham one-on-one.
LA pulled one back in the 84th minute. Ibrahimovic kicked the ball in the air on a long throw in. The forward spun around and bicycle kicked the ball past Brad Knighton to make it 2-1. The Galaxy couldn’t find a winner and the match ended with that scoreline.
Gil ➡️ Teal = G⚽️AL#NERevs // #LAvNE pic.twitter.com/7Ztuir6u6w
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) June 3, 2019
Three Takeaways:
Galaxy limited offensively: The Galaxy attack is still trying to find a reliable secondary scoring option. Zlatan did well on the goal in this game and had a handful of other options. It was still too easy for New England to hone in on him with no other threats on the field.
Revs are getting it done under Bruce Arena: The Revs are unbeaten in four games since Brad Friedel was fired. Arena got his first win with the club and the team has looked much improved the last month.
Lletget goes down: It’s been a rough weekend for MLS-based USMNT hopefuls. Lletget joins that group with an injury in this first half. His 2019 Gold Cup could be in serious jeopardy if that substitution was not precautionary.
