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Saturday’s inaugural El Tráfico matchup between LAFC and the Los Angeles Galaxy quickly became a classic, as the Galaxy roared back to clinch a 4-3 comeback victory. But the game was also a major learning experience for LAFC, as the club notched its first ever loss in its short history.
First-half fury led to second-half slump
Even before Zlatan made his grand entrance, LAFC was struggling in the second half. Its third score came courtesy of an own-goal, as Galaxy defender Daniel Steres attempted to clear a cross and instead sent the ball sailing into his own net. The team only took four shots in the second half, placing two of them on frame.
This stagnancy spread to every other aspect of LAFC’s play. The team allowed the Galaxy to dominate possession and to take four corner kicks while taking none in return. Midfielder Benny Feilhaber made it clear that the team doesn’t feel Ibrahimović was the deciding factor in the loss. By the time the superstar took the field, the Galaxy already was taking over.
This sluggish play came after LAFC opened the game on fire, throwing the Galaxy back on its heels with an early goal. Throughout the first half, the team brought the pressure in every area of the pitch, disrupting passes and keeping the Galaxy off balance. But that energy changed in the second half, which allowed the Galaxy to mount the ultimate counterattack.
“We took our foot off the gas and we paid for it,” Feilhaber said. “We really changed the way we played, I think in the last 30 minutes we were a little bit more tentative we weren’t playing through the middle of the field. We weren’t creating as many opportunities on the counter attack as were in the first half. We gave them life and it took away a little of our confidence.”
Don’t overadjust, even to a superstar
And then, to make things worst, LAFC had to deal with Ibrahimović. His entrance earned thunderous applause and immediately signaled a shift for the visiting club. LAFC visibly adjusted to cover Ibrahimović, attempting to prevent the star from opening up the game early. Instead, that modification to the defensive focus allowed other players to get open, with Chris Pontius netting a goal only a minute after Ibrahimović entered.
“We have to make sure in any game that that happens, because that can’t happen again,” Fielhaber said. “We can’t allow ourselves to change the way we play because we know we can be very good when we play our style.”
Although there aren’t other players of quite the same caliber as Ibrahimović in MLS, LAFC will have to avoid making this mistake in the future. It’s easy for teams to fall into the pit of over-guarding a star and allowing a secondary player to slip through the cracks. The discipline to avoid that tendency is what sets apart the good teams and the great ones.
Carlos Vela has officially arrived
If one thing stood out positively for LAFC on Saturday, it was the poise and finishing skills of Carlos Vela. He picked up his first goal before the first five minutes of the game had passed, hesitating for a second outside the box before smashing a shot that curled just inside the top left corner of the goal.
Vela followed up with a second goal in the 26th minute, collecting a pass from Ureña in the box and then turning around in circles to send the Galaxy goalkeeper flying to the ground. After several seconds of topsy-turvy dribbling in the box, he finally finished with a soft touch past several defenders to give LAFC the 2-0 lead.
Composure: 10/10. #LAvLAFC pic.twitter.com/ESTmRjVLL0
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 31, 2018
The brace marked Vela’s second and third goals with the club, and the performance reflected the way in which the leader has stepped up to the helm of his team as it faces bigger and better challenges. Vela’s ability to assert himself on and off the ball will continue to help guide this young team.
LAFC has all the pieces
The first and second halves looked like two different LAFC teams, and coach Bob Bradley will need to dissect that as he turns his attention to the next game on the road against Atlanta. But if LAFC can continue to turn out performances like the first half, it will quickly become a force to be reckoned with — speedy, aggressive and cunning on the finishing end.
At the end of the day, all that stood between LAFC and a draw was a few inches of grass. Marco Ureña missed a wide-open shot in the second half that smacked into the left upright and ricocheted away, leaving the score tied and the game open for the Galaxy to ultimately win. But a slightly different adjustment from Ureña, or a counter by a trailing forward, could have left the team with a slightly more satisfying result. The pieces were there. It’s just a matter of assembly.