LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Los Angeles FC defeated Real Salt Lake 2-0 on Wednesday night in front of an announced crowd of 22,000 at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Newly acquired forward Christian Ramirez, a Southern California native, made a big impression in his first start for LAFC.
Heading into the match, these two sides were only a point apart in the Western Conference standings: LAFC sat in fifth place with 36 points and RSL sat in sixth place with 35 points. As the number of remaining games in the season is down to single digits, games against same-conference opponents will begin to have bigger implications on the playoff picture. LAFC won the first meeting between these two teams back on March 10 with a 5-1 rout.
Ramirez got the nod from Bob Bradley to start this match and made his case to be a permanent part of the starting lineup. He scored a goal in the 13th minute, with an assist from Carlos Vela, dribbling past RSL defender Brooks Lennon to put the ball past goalkeeper Nick Rimando. Ramirez was acquired from Minnesota United FC in the Secondary Transfer Window in exchange for up to $1 million in allocation money. He played 21 minutes in LAFC’s loss on Saturday against Sporting Kansas City, subbing in in the 69th minute for Marco Ureña. Ramirez could have had an earlier goal, but his attempt in the 8th minute was deemed offside by referee David Gantar.
Ramirez put LAFC further ahead in the 30th minute, slotting away a pass from Eduard Atuesta that made its way completely through the 6-yard-box to Ramirez waiting to tap it in once again past Rimando. LAFC held their 2-0 into halftime.
Nick Rimando was replaced in goal by Andrew Putna at the half, giving Putna his first minutes of the 2018 MLS regular season. Real Salt Lake had used all substitutions relatively early in the second half in hopes of finding their way back into the match. Forward Joao Plata came in for defender Shawn Barry in the 56th minute, and midfielder Pablo Ruiz came in for Sunny in the 72nd.
The second half was much more reserved than the first. Both sides had their share of opportunities within the first 15 minutes of the half, including several dangerous chances for a Ramirez hat trick, but neither side was able to break through during that time. Ramirez was subbed out in the 77th minute in favor of Latif Blessing.
After the match, head coach Bob Bradley discussed the mentality he expected from his side tonight.
“Before the game, I challenged for more concentration, more intensity, more helping each other on the field, more leadership; all of those things,” explained Bradley. “And then, at halftime I said, I want a shutout. So, rather than coming in and talking a lot about football, I want to say that the players responded really well to the challenges. I think, to become a very good team, you want to continue to take the football that I speak about and that we work on every day, and keep trying to make that part better. But with it are other things, so tonight I think there were a lot of positives in those ways.”
Los Angeles was able to maintain their 2-0 lead to finish off the match with a win and snap their winless streak. The side was winless since their July 7th match at home against Orlando City SC.
With the win, LAFC jump to 2nd place in the Western Conference standings, tied with Sporting Kansas City, and jumping over the Portland Timbers and the LA Galaxy.
Looking ahead, LAFC will host the Colorado Rapids at 10pm E.T. at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.