The LA Galaxy's striker position remains the team's biggest preseason question in Coachella
Through four preseason games, the striker position has had little impact for the LA Galaxy.
On Sunday afternoon, the LA Galaxy walked off the field in defeat following its 3-1 loss to Austin FC in Coachella Valley. After four games this preseason, the Galaxy has yet to get a win as the club has recorded three losses and one draw.
LA conceded early in the match but winger Gino Vivi scored a back post volley in the 15th minute to tie the game for the Galaxy. LA had their chances to add to their goal tally but could not get another in the back of the net. Austin would end up scoring two goals in the final five minutes of the game to snatch the victory.
While there will still be questions about the defense heading into the MLS regular season - the position that needs the most improvement is at striker.
Miguel Berry, 26, is the Galaxy’s only addition to the position at the time of writing. He scored in LA’s 1-1 draw with San Jose to start the preseason but has gone cold since.
In the last three preseason games, Berry has little to no memorable moments of danger or shots that test the goalkeeper. He’s not a factor for a club that is looking to see much-improved production at the number nine position. At 6’3”, the former Atlanta United forward hasn’t used his height to dominate the air and provide another way for the Galaxy to create danger.
“[Berry] needs more chances which also means his mindset and how he's moving needs to be more towards the goal more towards the final action,” said Head Coach Greg Vanney to reporters after the match.
“He's playing like a possession player when he needs to be a striker, needs to be a goal scorer, needs to have the mentality that he's got to carry the goal load.”
Vanney is right. There are moments in the match where Berry is too deep and tries to get involved with the build-up. Since the Galaxy is experimenting with Miki Yamane as an inverted fullback, LA doesn’t need the forward to drop as there is already extra support in the midfield. Berry just needs to be an outlet for crosses into the box or move the center backs to create gaps in the opponent’s backline for his teammates to run into space.
Many people within the LA Galaxy organization have expressed their belief in Dejan Joveljic being the guy this season. His 2023 campaign was underwhelming considering he started in 19 games and scored just six goals in 1,625 minutes.
Joveljic played in the Galaxy’s preseason draw with San Jose but suffered a hip contusion in the game - the injury has caused him to miss LA’s last three games. Vanney said he’s hopeful that Joveljic will be able to get back on the pitch soon.
In my previous conversations with Vanney, he told me that he wants Joveljic to become a complete player. During his first presser of the year, Vanney mentioned he wants the Serbian to improve his holdup play, assist numbers, and help maintain the defensive shape of the team.
With his injury keeping him out, we haven’t seen how Joveljic is progressing in what Vanney is asking out of him. This is the only time you can experiment and work on your craft as there is no weight to these games - taking risks and making mistakes are ok in preseason only. Joveljic is missing out on time to get his match fitness and back to scoring goals to build momentum and his confidence that he can be the guy.
It definitely hurts that Riqui Puig and Gaston Brugman have had little to no playing this preseason. The pair of midfielders dominate when it comes to ball progression and advancing the ball into the final third. With both likely to return to the pitch in these final pair of games, I expect them to elevate the chance creation to help the striker position have more opportunities to score.
Gabriel Pec is now focusing on making it to camp with the LA Galaxy following the conclusion of South American Olympic qualifiers. Vanney is hopeful that he can be in the U.S. this Saturday and told the media he will not play in Coachella if that’s the case. He’s another puzzle piece that can unlock the strikers but at the moment the coaching staff will have to wait before plugging him in.
These final two preseason games are important for the striker position to show signs of life and gain some momentum before the MLS season starts. The Galaxy needs to avoid having their forwards be cold to start the campaign like they did last year.