Marco Reus leads LA Galaxy to 2-2 draw against LAFC
The German midfielder was the difference in this edition of El Traffico
The LA Galaxy got a 2-2 draw in the 25th edition of El Trafico on Sunday night thanks to heroics from Marco Reus.
The derby began with a goal from Reus in the sixth minute. He put away a rebound from Gabriel Pec’s shot and scored his second goal of the season. The fans erupted as the G’s celebrated in front of Victoria Block.
Denis Bounaga provided a moment of incredible finishing in the 12th minute. His curling strike beat John McCarthy at the far post.
Nathan Ordaz scored LAFC’s second goal of the night in the 50th minute of the match. He ran off the shoulder of defender Maya Yoshida and beat McCarthy to his near post. A smart run from Bouanga created the space for Ordaz to get a quality look in front of the goal.
The Galaxy’s best shot to get an equalizer came in the 78th minute. Pec executed a quality finish, but the goal was overturned after a VAR review determined he was offside during his run.
But the moment of magic came from Reus late in the game. A dazzling free kick beat LAFC and World Cup winner Hugo Lloris and injected new life into the crowd of over 23,000 at Dignity Health Sports Park. The Galaxy had to settle for the tie despite the surge of momentum on the side of the home team. The Galaxy still remains winless but broke a five-game losing streak.
“I had these kind of situations a thousand times in my career. So I know what I have to do in this situation,” said Reus postgame.
Head Coach Greg Vanney told reporters that during one of Reus’ first training sessions with the club, he took 30 free kicks, with 28 of them looking just like Sunday night’s game-tying strike.
“I'm not watching, like, ok, the ref is blowing the whistle and I have to shoot now. I have to stay calm. Just concentrate on the situation, and then hopefully it goes in, and this time, it was a little bit lucky but it was a good shot, as well,” added Reus.
Reus continues to be in stellar form and leads the Galaxy’s offense as a scorer and playmaker. In his last five matches played dating back to April 27, Reus has totaled six goal contributions (3 goals, 3 assists).
“He's going to help be the engine and the guy who facilitates a lot of these final actions and get guys on the ball and put them in the places they need to be, and then do what he did tonight, which is put one away; put two away but put one away on a set piece which is enormous,” said Vanney.
The LA Galaxy is relying on Reus to provide a creative spark while Riqui Puig remains sidelined because of an ACL injury. The German midfielder may not be as fast or agile as he used to be, but his mind reads the game at a quicker speed.
Reus was constantly roaming into pockets of space, and he made the right pass every time he got on the ball.
“It's important for us to have him on the field as much as possible. I think none of us are surprised by this quality,” said Edwin Cerrillo to reporters.
“It's important to have him on the field because we can rely on him to change the game as Riqui did last year, and Riqui is not there but we have Marco Reus. So just to have him in the locker room with his experience and going through this tough stretch of games, he's the guy that continues with positivity around the locker room, and everybody respects him every time he speaks,” he added.
The Galaxy is still unable to find a win through 14 MLS games this season. The tie may not have been a win, but the performance was one to be proud of. The Galaxy now heads to face San Diego and then San Jose.
“We all had to get out of our shell and get out of the slum that we're in, and the past results are the past results, and we had to come out and play,” said Cerillo.
“I think the guys did well. And obviously not satisfied with the draw but again we are going to continue building and hopefully this turns the season around.”