"I Hate Losing"; Marco Reus and the LA Galaxy Fall to Minnesota United at Home
The LA Galaxy has gone three games without a win in MLS regular season play
The LA Galaxy’s season continues to lack direction following a 2-1 loss to Minnesota United on Saturday night.
Anthony Markanich opened the scoring in the first half for the Loons. He beat Mauricio Cuevas to the ball and finished his one-on-one chance against J.T Marcinkowski in the 51st minute.
Marco Reus scored his second goal of the season in the 57th minute to bring the game level. LA broke down the low block of the Loons to create that high-quality chance.
It would be the away side that found the winner. Kelvin Yeboah scored a tap-in goal after a giveaway from the LA Galaxy and poor defending on the ensuing attack.
The Galaxy extends its winless streak to three games. Boos rained down as the final whistle blew and players headed to the locker room with no expressions on their faces.
Another Goalkeeper Saga
Vanney made it clear in his lineup that Marcinkowski is the starter now. The LA Galaxy is going into its second season, where Novak Mićović has been replaced early in the season.
The 28-year-old made two saves on the night but conceded two on the night. It wasn’t a spectacular night for Marcinkowski.
In his press conference, Vanney didn’t commit to one goalkeeper.
“I think they're two very different goalkeepers, and so I'm not committing at the moment,” he said.
Mićović had started MLS matches, while Marcinkowski played the games in Concacaf Champions Cup. Now it’s been reversed with Marcinkowski starting the last two league matches.
“I think I possess great leadership within the locker room. I think I can help the backline with my communication. I think at the end of the day it's just about making saves,” said Marcinkowski about what makes him stand out as a goalkeeper.
“At the end of the day, it’s just about making saves… that’s what you’re paid to do, and that’s what your role is,” he said.
Cheap Goals
It was a night to watch the LA Galaxy’s backline concede soft goals. The lineup of Julian Aude, Justin Haak, Emiro Garces, and Cuevas is as close as you can get to the strongest possible pairing given the current availability.
"When teams score goals, we have to make them earn the goals. They can't be simple goals... We can't give up soft goals. We've got to be cleaner about that,” said Vanney about the goals allowed.
Cuevas was beaten by a long ball and couldn’t catch up to Markanich. This gave the Loons a high-quality shot that the team took advantage of. The second goal saw a giveaway in the team’s own half that led to Minnesota scoring with not much defensive pressure.
"We want that to be the opposition, not to be us, right? And I think our failure to take care of the ball in good ways is putting more physical challenges on us,” added Vanney.
The Galaxy invested heavily in the backline this offseason. Allowing goals of this caliber isn’t a good sign.
“I hate losing”
It was blunt and direct from Reus at the post-match press conference. The former German Player of the Year has only known winning during his half-season in 2024, which ended with an MLS Cup. This stretch of results is clearly weighing on him.
“I hate losing. I hate losing so much, and it pissed me off today, and the other games too, when we are not winning,” he told reporters.
Reus pointed to a lack of basic collective effort as the underlying problem.
“It’s simple basics in soccer, helping each other in difficult moments, even when you don’t have the confidence on the field yourself, but just to show up, to give an option for your teammate if he’s in a difficult situation,” he said.
With Toluca on the horizon midweek, the Galaxy have little time to dwell. But the questions surrounding this team are growing louder.
“We are the guys on the pitch, and the coach can always decide something and change something, of course, but at the end, we are on the pitch, and we make the decisions. So that means that we have to be more focused on us, on our game, and that can only be if we are doing it together,” said Reus.