D.C. United is on the heels of its first road win of the season and gearing up for a crucial match Saturday against Los Angeles FC. Fully focused on the West Coast, United does not have time to worry about a certain highly-anticipated visitor back home.
“I am not concerned with who is in and around Washington, D.C.,” coach Ben Olsen told Pro Soccer USA when asked about Wayne Rooney’s visit to the nation’s capital. “I have business here on the West Coast to take care of this weekend.”
While Wayne Rooney reportedly toured United’s new stadium Audi Field, the Black-and-Red continued training at the University of California LA. Due to back-to-back games in California, the club spent a week in Santa Monica. The ocean-side town isn’t the worst place to get away from the rumors swirling around on the opposite cost.
United earned a convincing 3-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes with the use of a high-pressure defense and a midfield combination rarely seen this season.
“It wasn’t just grabbing three points last week,” Olsen said. “It was the way we did it. We put together a real professional, mature performance. The next challenge is sustaining that focus and quality game after game.”
Two of United’s three goals were direct results of the high-press led by a midfield of Yamil Asad, Zoltan Stieber, Luciano Acosta and Paul Arriola.
“We are a very good pressing team,” Olsen said. “It is a matter of picking and choosing those times to press and being efficient with the chances when we do turn them over.”
Stieber and Asad both notched goals against San Jose while Acosta recorded two assists. Arriola added an assist on the third goal to Asad, which was a direct result of pressure on the Earthquakes defense.
The high press could be United’s key to coming back to D.C. with six points. Each team is different, but the difference in performance between United’s opponent last week and this week is clear: 11 points separate the two United opponents in the Western Conference.
“They have more quality than some of the teams we have faced recently. The LAFC midfield is quite strong,” Olsen said. “Winning the center of the park is a huge factor in getting points out of this game.”
United will have two new players to choose from on Saturday. Left back Joseph Mora missed the San Jose match due to a red card suspension. Midfielder Júnior Moreno missed the last month of play due to a hamstring injury. He traveled with the team and will be available for selection against LAFC.
“Mora and Moreno coming back gives us two good options to have as starters or on the bench,” Olsen said. “We are starting to get healthy bodies back and competition in the lineup and on the bench. We haven’t had since the season started.”
Where: Banc of California Stadium — Los Angeles, California
When: Saturday, May 26 at 10 pm ET
Watch: News Channel 8, ESPN+
Predicted Starting XI: David Ousted; Nick DeLeon, Frederic Brillant, Steve Birnbaum, Joseph Mora; Zoltan Stieber, Chris Durkin, Paul Arriola, Luciano Acosta, Yamil Asad; Darren Mattock