New look LA Galaxy defeat Chicago Fire 3-0 in return to MLS play
The Galaxy gets three points to begin their quest to make MLS Cup playoffs. 3 major talking points that stood out from the match.
The LA Galaxy begin their final 12 matches of the season with a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Fire. Despite not playing a competitive game in a month’s time, the Galaxy were able to find their groove en route to all three points at home.
It was the home side that got the advantage following Gaston Gimenez’s red card in the 27th minute of the game. The Fire midfielder gave up a free kick that helped set up the Galaxy’s first goal via a strike inside the box from Tyler Boyd.
As the game went along, the Galaxy began to play the ball around Chicago and got into a groove in the final third. Douglas Costa then set up Riqui Puig in the 72nd minute to double the lead.
The Galaxy wasn’t finished yet as new striker Billy Sharp recorded his first Galaxy goal on his team debut from the penalty spot in the 90th minute. It put the cherry on top for what became a good night for the Blue, White, and Gold.
Let’s get into the three major talking points from this game. But first, here’s why Diego Fagundez was unable to get on the pitch for LA on Saturday night.
Wrong Number
We were all expecting to see midfielder Diego Fagundez make his debut. The Uruguayan was racing towards the bench and changed into his LA Galaxy kit. He was set to come into the game for Tyler Boyd but the substitution was not allowed to happen. Here is why:
On the official teamsheet, Fagundez was listed under the number 14. It was the number he wore during his 2.5 seasons with Austin FC before getting traded to the LA Galaxy. His official number on the Galaxy is 21, he couldn’t enter the game with that number since he is officially listed as #14 for this game.
After this was made apparent, an LA Galaxy #14 Diego Fagundez kit was made during the game and delivered on the bench for him to change into. However, that wouldn’t allow him to come into the game because the Galaxy already has the #14 registered for Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. Fagundez was then forced to watch the game from the bench and forced to wait for his Galaxy debut.
“Evidently at the league office, he’s still number 14. Not sure exactly why, because that was his number at Austin. So when he was populated on the roster for the day, he was populated at number 14 from the league perspective. Don’t know why that change hadn’t happened with the league and didn’t happen on the roster paper and why that wasn’t picked up in the process,” stated Vanney about the situation.
The Galaxy did all they could to try to get Fagundez on the field but ultimately weren’t allowed to. Luckily for the Galaxy, this error didn’t come at a time when LA needed some offensive firepower.
It was some sort of clerical, administrative error, which, unfortunately, we got through it tonight because we won the game. It was disappointing for Diego, and as I said to him, I apologize for him because this is… we don’t ever want these things to obviously happen. There are things that just need to be taken care of.
- Greg Vanney
Running the trenches
The midfield of Uri Rossell, Riqui Puig, and Edwin Cerrillo had an impressive first game together.
They combined for 292 completed passes on 308 pass attempts - a completion percentage of 94.1%. Rosell missed just one pass in 81 minutes played and Cerrillo missed two passes during the whole 90 minutes.
The 22-year-old Cerrillo had quite an impressive debut game. He recorded 98 of 100 passes (98%), 21 passes into the final third, made six recoveries, won six possessions, and recorded two interceptions in his 90-minute performance.
“He's where he needs to be, he takes the ball in soft to get you out of situations that look like jams. He's just very clean and tidy,” noted Vanney on Cerrillo’s performance. “If the situation was a little bit fuzzy, he took care of it. He's a ball-winner, a guy who breaks up things in the midfield like a true defensive midfielder,” he added.
Rosell was comfortable sitting in front of or forming a back three with the center backs. He cut down spaces and helped eliminate passing lanes next to Cerillo. He won’t get much of the spotlight but he did well in keeping the middle of the park operating.
Puig earns Man of the Match honors against the Fire. He did what you expected him to do; run the midfield and get the LA Galaxy attack going. While it did take some time to get all the rust off, he shows why he’s in the conversation for best midfielder in the league.
The red card helped the LA Galaxy keep a numerical advantage which helps there be a higher likelihood of an open passing lane. The midfield trio did well to build a rhythm and dictate the game until the end. A great way for them to work on establishing chemistry in the most important area of the pitch
A pair of good first impressions
Maya Yoshida made his first appearance for the Galaxy as part of the starting XI. The Japanese defender started next to Eriq Zavaleta and played the entire 90 minutes. He recorded an assist for Boyd’s goal, a game-high six clearances, and completed 65 of 65 passes (100%) that helped keep a clean sheet.
“He's vocal, he's someone when I'm communicating to him he's also listening and when he communicates with me I can listen there is a clear path of communication,” said goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.
During his first press conference, Yoshida highlighted that he liked the idea of playing for a club that dominates possession. He showed that despite playing a lot of route one football at Schalke last season, he makes composed passes with the ball.
“Technically we have good passing football and the coach also wants to distribute from behind so we are building confidence and understanding each other especially a new player like me, Tony [Alfaro] or Billy Sharp also have to understand how to play football here,” said Yoshida.
While he acknowledges that this style of play fits the team, he made sure to point out that playing with possession can have its drawbacks when it’s reckless.
“We have to reduce the sloppy mistakes, especially in the middle because it can be a risk for a counter attack,” he told me. “ I watched highlights and lot of goals were conceded from that kind of mistake so we have to improve a lot."
“I’m not 37 years old, I’m 37 years young” - Billy Sharp
On the attacking end, Sharp made his LA Galaxy debut and scored the team’s final goal of the game. Pretty impressive considering he has not played a game in two months and missed training during this week in order to get his Visa to play in this game.
Sharp was active and getting into positions to score. Just look at how he runs to the far post to get the ball after getting space during the free kick. That collision with the post looked like it stinged for a while.
In his career, the Englishman has converted 33 out of 43 penalty kick attempts. To take tonight’s kick from the spot, he had to talk with the captain.
“There was no discussion before the game, I just asked for the penalty and I owe Riqui [Puig] one. He gave me a gift tonight, so I am very happy to score on my MLS debut and hopefully there’s many to come,” he said postgame.
“We need our strikers to score. I thought it was a great gesture and a way for him to get off the mark and get started,” said Vanney about Puig letting Sharp take the spot kick. “Goal scorers are about confidence. They’re about putting the ball in the back of the net. So, I thought it was a positive gesture in that.”
Sharp reiterated that he’s not here on holiday and will do everything he can to help the Galaxy in their mission to move up the standings. He’s also looking to establish a connection with fans as he was signing autographs inside the team store after the game. Safe to say both he and Yoshida made a good impression on their teammates and Galaxy fans on Saturday.