LA Galaxy Winless Run Extends to 16 Games Following Cali Clasico Loss
The Quakes give LA its 12th loss of the season on Wednesday night.
The Galaxy fall 1-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes in the 103rd Cali Clasico as LA’s winless run reaches 16 matches, the longest in MLS history post-shootout era.
Matheus Nacimiento looked to have opened the scoreline just 15 minutes into his first start, only to have it called back for offside as he was caught just a step ahead of San Jose’s dangerously high backline.
The rest of the first half calmed down after that chance. San Jose made the most of their possession with three shots on target, highlighted by a giveaway from Edwin Cerrillo to Amahi Pellegrino that led to a solid save by Novak Mićović.
The Galaxy would start the second half firing as Joseph Painstil found open space on the counter, setting up Gabriel Pec for a dangerous shot from outside the box.
Marco Reus went down favoring his groin in the 57th minute, just as he was about to be subbed off for Diego Fagundez. Head Coach Greg Vanney was unable to provide an update as to Reus’ condition in his post-match presser.
The first goal of the match would finally come in the 74th minute when fresh substitutions Preston Judd and Ousseni Bouda would link up on a threaded ball in behind Zanka and Miki Yamane to give San Jose the lead. This was Bouda’s third goal in all competitions.
LA would push for an equalizer until the final whistle, getting as close as a Maya Yoshida header that didn’t quite have enough behind it in stoppage time.
Bruce Arena’s side earns three points in his return to Dignity Health Sports Park, where he spent nine years and won three MLS Cups with the Galaxy. LA
Squandered Chances
This was a winnable game for the LA Galaxy. The chances to score and quality looks the G’s saw on the night were squandered by mistakes and lack of execution in the final third.
“We had created a lot of chances, then we couldn't finish the action. We couldn't dominate it. So football is always about scoring. We didn't score and we conceded,” said Maya Yoshida to the media.
The Earthquakes played a high line for a good portion of the match, and there was plenty of space to be found behind for LA’s wingers. The Galaxy has thrived and been lethal in open space, but tonight the G’s lacked that killer bite in the final third.
“We talked about that coming into the game, and we wanted to get Marco [Reus], Joe [Paintsil], Gabe, these guys on the ball, facing forward, running, and either in behind or running at them. I think a lot of those scenarios came, and I just, I think, yeah, I just think we didn't execute on those actions the way we should have.
“The frustrating part for me was that we had more than enough opportunities to open that game up and be on top. I don't want to say comfortably, but be on top, and we just never got there and that's disappointing tonight,” he added.
Paintsil was dangerous in the first half, but his impact on the match diminished as the game went on. Pec would run with the ball at his feet, but many of his shots were low-chance opportunities, or the Quakes would force him to pass the ball to other players.
The Galaxy’s killer instinct from its championship-winning season evades the current squad. LA now has to look for its first win of the season against Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
Examining Nascimento’s First Start
The 21-year-old Brazilian made his first start in LA Galaxy colors. He’d played just 133 minutes in MLS regular season play prior to his start against the Quakes. This match provided a 69-minute sample size of what he can provide as a starter for the Galaxy.
Aside from his disallowed goal, the Brazilian had a quiet first half offensively. His most notable moments were his recoveries and tackles to win the ball back in the Galaxy’s half. With LA paying multiple long balls over the top, Nascimento had to contest multiple aerial duels rather than be part of the build-up in possession. He recorded 10 touches in the first half alongside one shot on target through the first 45 minutes.
“He's hanging around in midfield and coming off and but it's when he's active and he keeps moving, and he's testing channels, and he's testing depth and he's busy,” said Vanney. “I think he's so used to kind of coming off playing like a false nine and sitting between the lines and that's not something we need. We need him to be direct.”
The second half saw more involvement from Nascimento as he received more touches in possession and linked up with the rest of his teammates. His work rate was impressive on the night as he would track back and look to win back possession multiple times on the night. His energy and runs added an extra dimension that the Quakes had to worry about.
“I wanted a more athletic forward. I wanted somebody who could compete. If we had to put balls in the air, didn't have to win them. But if he could make them, knock them down into areas that we could pick them up and run with them, then that was going to be good. So I wanted his activity level, his capacity again, to threaten space,” said Vanney.
His growth in the second half of the match has to delight Vanney and the coaching staff. Nascimento needs to develop more rhythm with the starting unit to build chemistry when in possession and for better opportunities on goal.
“Tonight set up for him in a way that I felt like, and he did a good job inside of his minutes.”
Bursting the bubble
The Galaxy backline had a lot to deal with on the night from San Jose. The Quakes led MLS in goals scored heading into the game and put pressure on the Galaxy backline from the start of the match. Josef Martinez got a shot on target in the first minute of the match, but it was saved by Novak Micovic, setting the tone for a Quakes side that’s been the highest scoring side in MLS entering the game.
The Galaxy had to be in transition defense for a good portion of this match as well as take into account the multiple shots outside the box the Quakes attempted. Despite holding off more than 11 shots from the Quakes, the Galaxy backline broke with Bouda’s goal in the second half. The Quakes finished off the match with 13 shots (six on target) and an xG of 1.19.
Bouda’s goal wasn’t a moment of magic created by the Quakes, but rather he was quicker and got to the ball faster than Zanka and Miki Yamane.
“We can do a little better there just communication, but I need to watch it back. I honestly haven't really seen much of it, so I don't want to say too much, but yeah, it's just, it's just one play. It's one little breakdown,” said John Nelson to reporters.
The Galaxy offense coldn’t execute on the night and the backline did all it could to give the squad a chance at vicotry. San Jose executed in the moment that mattered the most while the LA Galaxy couldn’t get any of its chances to hit the back of the net at home.