Riqui Puig heroics lead LA Galaxy to comeback win in Colorado
Puig leads the Galaxy to its first win at Dick's Sporting Goods Park since 2017. A key win to get closer to clinching the top seed in the West.
The Galaxy recorded a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids to keep the top spot in the Western Conference and have the ability to clinch home-field advantage on Saturday night at home.
“All of these games matter going into playoffs; the momentum really matters in this league”.
Mark Delgado, who made his 100th LA Galaxy appearance on Wednesday night, told reporters about the importance of keeping the momentum going as the playoffs approach.
The Galaxy has failed to win at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park since 2017 and had only scored three goals in the last five matchups in the Centennial State. It felt like the Galaxy would continue this trend following the first-half performance.
The Rapids press had halted much of the Galaxy’s momentum, and just before the half, Conor Ronan opened the scoring for the home side. Given the short week and the major altitude changes, the situation wasn’t in favor of a Galaxy comeback.
Gabriel Pec found his 14th goal of the season five minutes into the second half. Delgado played a great ball into space for the Brazilian winger to finish with his weak foot. The Galaxy found the spark needed to ignite its blazing attacking.
Riqui Puig doubled the lead nine minutes later to cap off an impressive counter-attack goal for the G’s. Pec picked up the assists as the Killa P’s continued to leave their stamp on the game.
The Galaxy held down the fort defensively and limited the Rapids to half-chances for the rest of the match. It was Puig who put the final dagger into the Rapids with his stoppage-time goal to clinch all three points.
“I think that you can feel inside the field, that all together an the team are like enjoying together, and we're like making really good performance,” said Puig to reporters postgame.
Nobody doubts how good Riqui Puig is. His talents are up there, along with the best players in MLS, and he’s done well to be the face of the LA Galaxy since his arrival in 2022.
Wednesday night reminded everyone that he can take over a match after a rough start.
The Rapids did well to force Puig into uncomfortable spaces with their press. There were some giveaways in bad areas, and he couldn’t build the club into a rhythm offensively to start the game.
As soon as he got into gear in the second half, so did the Galaxy.
“What [Puig] is able to do in terms of changing the speed of the game and getting himself facing forward and now moving with the ball, it's special,” said Head Coach Greg Vanney to media postgame.
“Today. It took us up until it took us a half time to really find the solution, but we found it, and then we capitalized,” added Vanney.
Having Pec, Dejan Joveljic, and Joseph Paintsil making runs at defenders allows Puig to be his best self. He can play the killer ball that creates a chance or can take advantage of the space given to him to put the ball in the back of the net.
“With Joseph and Gabriel, at times inside the pitch we have our discussions, but that is normal because we understand each other and want the best for the team,” said Puig in Spanish postgame.
“This year, we are enjoying each other, and we’re at a good level. I think we need to take advantage of that because the seasons “they go as they go,” like last year, but knock on wood, hopefully, we can go into playoff all available.
Puig has three goals and two assists in his last four games for the Blue, White, and Gold. He’s rounding into form at the business end of the long MLS season.
The LA Galaxy as a team and individually has broken many negative steaks this season; Vanney’s winless run against Sporting Kansas City, Puig’s lack of impact against LAFC, and finally beating Seattle in MLS play for the first time since 2018 to provide a few examples.
The G’s can now add recording a win in Colorado for the first time this decade.
“It's just a tough place to play with the altitude, and given that, it's not the greatest place to play given the atmosphere,” said Delgado postgame.
“These games matter going into playoffs, so we definitely want to take that into account, even though it was quite dead and quiet before the game. During warmups, we definitely pushed each other and had each other ready to go when the whistle would blow,” added Delgado about the match atmosphere.
One of the most impressive aspects of this match was the LA Galaxy holding onto the lead with 30 minutes remaining on the clock. With the club away from home and playing in altitude, the Rapids had the home-field advantage to finish the game.
The Galaxy had kept the Rapids to an xG of 0.35 and one shot on target in the final 45 minutes of the game. It wasn’t the perfect way to close out a game, but the Galaxy gave the Rapids a few moments of momentum swinging its way.
Quite impressive considering the Rapids (16) are tied for first with Portland for goals scored in the final 15 minutes of the second half.
“I thought we did a great job in stretches where we were defending and killing the game in possession, not having to do that necessarily defending at the top of our box,” said Vanney.
“I think that to be honest it could be one of our greatest strengths defensively is keeping the ball away from the other team and forcing them to have to figure out how to get it. We did a nice job of that in stretches tonight for sure."
The Galaxy still demands improvement from each other in not falling into a deficit during matches. During his presser, Puig emphasized the importance of executing efficiently and not falling behind in the playoffs, as there won’t be another day to correct their mistakes.
“Everything matters that much more. Just cleaning up and not making mistakes, cleaning things up, playing well. You know, all of that carries over into the playoffs, especially my experience,” said Delgado.
This win gives the Galaxy some breathing room in the race for the first place in the West. LA will look to work on these deficiencies on Saturday night and keep building momentum to contest for MLS Cup with the best of the best.