LA Galaxy top Leagues Cup group following thrilling penalty shootout win over Chivas
Sunday night's match provided all the thrills in the concluding game of the Leagues Cup group stage for the LA Galaxy
The LA Galaxy defeat Chivas de Guadalajara in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 tie at home to cap off an undefeated run in the Leagues Cup group stage.
LA already clinched its spot into the knockout rounds following Wednesday's 2-1 win against the San Jose Earthquakes but confirmed the top spot in the group following the regulation time draw.
Chivas drew first blood with Alan Mozo scoring in the eighth minute of the match. LA made a quick response through Joseph Paintsil – his goal had a very similar build-up to Miguel Berry’s game-winner on Wednesday.
Gabriel Pec continued his spectacular form at home with a goal in the 67th minute. Just when it looked like LA would secure all three points, Cade Cowell scored a rocket header a minute into stoppage time to take the game to penalties.
The two sides exchanged good shots and a miss during the first five rounds of the shoot-out to advance into sudden death. It was backup goalkeeper Novak Mićović who made the game-clinching save on Gilberto Sepulveda to silence the Chivas crowd.
With LA’s large Mexican–American community and the Rojiblancos’s status as one of Liga MX’s biggest clubs, the crowd was unsurprisingly very pro-Chivas on Sunday night. Getting off the 91 freeway, as I do during my commute to games, is right when Chivas fans became visible for the rest of the night.
With LA Galaxy and Chivas’ supporters sections on opposite ends of the pitch, it provided a unique and loud atmosphere. That intensity in the stands could also be felt by the players on the pitch. Chivas, who needed a positive result in this game to move onto the knockout rounds, wasn’t afraid to get physical to set the tone for the game.
Puig was at the center of many tackles from Chivas players during the first half. His elusiveness in midfield can also lead to rash tackles out of frustration from the opponent. Chivas’ Ricardo Marin committed a tough tackle on Puig in first-half stoppage time which led to a scuffle between both teams.
“These games, as soccer players, [we] live for these moments, and that was just so fun to go out there and play and enjoy our game,” said defender Mauricio Cuevas about the atmosphere on the night.
“Between the atmosphere, the intensity and the game….You don't get a ton of those during the course of a season. So anytime you can get those are the great,” said Greg Vanney postgame.
This unique experience gave LA a small glimpse of what it’s like to be in a hostile environment so close to home. It was no surprise to see Chivas fans take up many of the stands, but Vanney’s side kept its unbeaten run at Dignity Health Sports Park alive.
Emiro Garces made his first start in LA Galaxy colors and was one of the highlight players of the night. The Colombina defender finished the game with 45/45 (100%) passing, five tackles, four clearances, four recoveries and won six out of seven duels. He was forced to leave the match early due to an ankle injury in the final 10 minutes of regulation – Vanney mentioned postgame that his injury will be assessed in the next few days.
Garces stood his ground when in one-on-one duels and made it difficult for Chivas to have an success in the air. He showed off his pace during a great recovery run in the second half to single-handedly stop a counterattack and even blocked a shot that hit his groin a full pace.
“His ability to cover situations, get across, block things, intervene in certain moments is different, which is one of the things we think is going to be really special about him,” said Vanney during his presser.
He talked about Garces’ speed to make recovery runs and the exciting potential he has going forward. Vanney also made sure to point out that he still has to work on improving other aspects of his game as it’s so dependent on his physical traits.
“This guy's a machine that's for sure,” said Cuevas about the Colombian defender. "Great defensive effort from the whole team, and especially from Emiro. Super happy for him and super proud of him.”
“He was clean, really reliable, he made a bunch of good saves and last-minute tackles. For me, he had a really good performance,” said Mark Delgado post game.
The severity of his injury will determine if we see the Colombian again in this tournament – nonetheless, he made a great impression in his first Galaxy start.
It’s not often the LA Galaxy have been in a penalty shootout during a competitive match but LA stepped up to make this moment theirs.
Facing towards Angel City Brigade, Pec, Paintsil, Riqui Puig, and Miki Yamane stepped up and converted their spot kicks. Diego Fagundez, who never misses penalties during practice according to Vanney, was the only Galaxy player to not convert his penalty.
“I was happy for our guys, because again, in a normal season, you don't see that type of scenario. So you do get to see one and we have that experience at least under our belt,” said Vanney.
Mićović, who was named the GEICO Man of the Match, made six saves and recorded the penalty-kick-winning stop in the win over Chivas. He hasn’t had many moments to shine in MLS play but he’s been one of the standout players in the Galaxy’s Leagues Cup matches.
With this experience in the group stage, LA gets set to embark into the knockout rounds of the tournament with its Round of 32 match on Thursday night against the Seattle Sounders.
When I asked Cuevas if the team was going to go “full throttle” to win the tournament he said, “100%, we go to every game wanting to win and that's the goal.”
For the first time this decade, the Galaxy has a genuine shot at winning a trophy.