LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Just when you thought the MLS script writers had exhausted their supply of bizarre events, LA Galaxy shock Los Angeles FC in a result few saw coming.
LA Galaxy Shock LAFC in El Trafico Return
This game had some very interesting narratives. A noticable section of LA Galaxy Twitter were calling for changes or at least have Guillermo Barros Schelotto put on the hot seat. The team had yet to win a game and crashed out of MLS is Back.
On the other side, Bob Bradley and LAFC were furious with their knockout loss to Orlando City SC at MiB. Carlos Vela returned to the lineup. The team’s only measure of success for this year is winning MLS Cup. They blew out LA Galaxy 6-2 in Orlando and were looking to this be the first game in a march towards another trophy.
The game wasn’t very cagey with the teams playing contrasting styles. LAFC looked to feed Vela and Diego Rossi with their dynamic passing style. The Galaxy stayed compact and played direct. They looked for Cristian Pavon and Sebastian Lletget as outlets.
In just his second ever MLS start, Ethan Zubak opened the scoring on a corner in the 26th minute. The Galaxy played the corner short, LAFC’s defenders stepped up, and Zubak made a back shoulder run to get an open easy header to score. Julian Araujo and Pavon had the assist.
Lletget gave the Gs some breathing room early in the second half. In transition, Araujo got open out wide. He delivered a diagonal ball into the box that went by a few players to Lletget who was able to finish.
The Galaxy locked things up at the back and the match ended 2-0 to the visitors.
Ethan Zubak opens the scoring! 💥
The LA native gives @LAGalaxy the lead with his FIRST MLS goal. #LAFCvLA pic.twitter.com/FPhGvjbbHt
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 22, 2020
Three Takeaways:
Vela back, but not sharp: Vela returned for the defending Supporters’ Shield Champions. He was neutralized for stretches by the Galaxy and LAFC were ultimately shutout. It was his first game in months so we’ll find out if this was him not being sharp or the Galaxy playing well.
Galaxy simple and efficient: Defensively, the Galaxy played a lot like past games against LAFC that they’ve won. They kept it simple at the back and were mistake free. Offensively, they got the ball away from goal and to their attackers in space. No Zlatan, but they were able to finish.
Anything possible in new MLS format: This result probably shocked most. In this new format of the regular season and with long stretches between games, there are lots of unknowns.
