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After winning its season opener, LAFC commanded the attention of the entire MLS with a 5-1 victory on the road against Real Salt Lake on Saturday. The game highlighted the hunger of a club in its first season and ready to prove that it deserves to stay. It also showcased two of the team’s greatest strengths (and it’s most concerning weakness) in a nonstop thriller.
Execution and patience are the names of the game
When watching LAFC play on both offense and defense, the word “clinical” comes to mind. That’s pretty surprising for a young team with solid talent but shallow depth. New teams typically build success off of a scrappy mentality while working to refine its passing and attack. But LAFC is already looking polished.
On offense, the team is finding success by building an attack and slotting slick, speedy passes into seams in the defense. Rather than relying on a single star such as Carlos Vela or Diego Rossi to slice through the defense for a solo shot, LAFC creates gaps by shifting the defense as a team. This is effective because of the team’s chemistry, which is surprisingly mature despite the limited time that this squad has had to train together.
Defensively, LAFC gets numbers back quickly and effectively to slow counterattacks, which comes as a surprise for a team with only nine field players on its bench. This ability to recover on defense was a concern early in the preseason, when the midfield was relatively unfinished. But in the regular season, full-field transitions have been a strong point for the team.
Once set, the team packs the box and swarms strikers to eliminate gaps. And when a ball slips through, Tyler Miller has proved himself more than worthy in goal. There are still rough spots to smooth out, but so far, the backline is operating like a well-oiled machine.
Welcome to the Diego Rossi show
It might come as a bit of a shock that LAFC notched five goals before Vela found the back of the net. With Vela sucking up attention from the defense, however, Rossi was able to rise as a finisher. In two games, he’s already notched three goals (and almost a fourth when he sent an open goal shot a backdoor pass ricocheting off the post) and absolutely terrorized opposing defenses.
Rossi’s first goal came in the season opener against Seattle, a searing golazo from the top of the box that gave the team its first victory. After Real Salt Lake struck first on Saturday, he slipped a defender and buried the equalizer in the first half, then sent fans packing to the parking lots in the 81st minute when he pushed the lead to 4-1.
With three goals already, Rossi is bringing the fireworks and the finishing to this young club, and his creativity is providing a spark both on and off the ball for LAFC. Defenses will have to begin to shift to cover the one-two punch that Rossi is providing alongside the experienced Vela.
Although it hasn’t struck yet, the shallow bench still looms
It hasn’t been a problem yet, injuries could quickly become a thorn in the side of this team if it doesn’t add to the roster soon. Latif Blessing was forced to leave the field with a stinger in the first minute of the game, eventually returning to play after the team spent a brief moment with only ten players on the field. And Joao Moutinho took a severe hit to the head when he caught an awry pass from close range, forcing the young player to undergo concussion protocol.
Both of these scares caused eyes to immediately shift to the bench, which is still scarce despite the start of the regular season. LAFC has the smallest roster in the MLS at this time, and a combination of tired legs and injuries still remain a source of concern for the young squad. It’s nothing that the coaches or players can address themselves, but it’s definitely something for everyone following the club to keep an eye on.