When James Bond and Le Chiffre are trading jabs at the poker table in Casino Royale, you can feel the tense feeling that gambling evokes.
The first tension is felt once everyone is at the poker table. Then Bond gets into a predicament and looks like he might be the next one to leave the table, to then Le Chiffre puts everything on the table.
The LA Galaxy isn’t playing poker, but they’re gambling on this week’s results and putting a lot on the line in the span of six days.
When Joao Klauss says this in the most important week of the season, and head coach Greg Vanney doubles down on that, losing 6-2 to St. Louis City is not ideal.
There is no shame in losing to a team amid a 20-game unbeaten run, but the manner in which LA took the defeat is demoralizing nonetheless.
“I feel like [this game] lights a fire under some people and under the group. That was the emotion that I went into in the locker room. There was certainly anger and disappointment, but I also felt a recognition that there’s a big week still ahead of us,” said Vanney postgame.
Klauss was forced to enter the game after 11 minutes due to Kyogo Furuhashi picking up an injury early in the game. While he did score, the goal didn’t have any impact on changing the result.
“After the game everybody is frustrated, but one we thing we talked about in the locker room is staying together. We don’t point fingers, we don’t blame each other, and we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves.
So, LA loses this game under the primetime lights. The start of the most important week of the season is now something that the club is trying to forget about.
But the Galaxy isn’t backing away. They’re going all in and putting more pressure on Wednesday night’s matchup against the Portland Timbers.
“Wednesday, we have to win. We can’t have any other result,” Klauss told the media.
“That’s the only way for us to make it. I don’t care if I feel pain, I don’t care if my foot is feeling good or not feeling good, if I’ve recovered well or not recovered well, our mentality has to be the best mentality possible,” added Klauss.
Vanney is also making sure that Wednesday night holds more importance than any other game this season.
“Wednesday is the most important game of the season. We said this was the most important week. Wednesday is the most important game of the season,” Vanney said on Sunday night.
The Timbers head into this game on a five-game winless run, conceding two goals in four of these five games. Portland is three points behind the Galaxy with one less game played. It is clear why this game matters, and so much weight is being put on Wednesday night’s result.
The Galaxy backline has struggled in the past few weeks, with the St. Louis match being the worst display all season. LA invested a lot in players in Jakob Glesnes and Justin Haak while bringing in Sergi Roberto to help take away build-up responsibilities from the center backs.
This is where the backline needs to have its most impactful game of the season. Where the fruits of the investments grow and show that growth can be repeatable. Where a clean sheet seems like a genuine possibility rather than a hopeful thought.
You might think this is too much being put on one game, but this is exactly what the Galaxy wants. They said it themselves.
LA won’t be eliminated from playoff contention tonight, but the result will show if LA is ready for even more pressure on them.