Three takeaways from the LA Galaxy's 4-3 Cali Clasico win over the San Jose Earthquakes
The LA Galaxy came out on top of the 100th edition of the California Clasico with a 4-3 victory at home over the San Jose Earthquakes. The Galaxy held off the Quakes from staging a late comeback and moved back into first place in the Western Conference.
Gabriel Pec scored the opening goal 14 minutes into the game. The Galaxy showed off excellent passing and pace to get the ball into a dangerous area for the Brazilian winger to score. The Galaxy was awarded a penalty kick 10 minutes later and Joseph Paintsil converted the spot kick for his fourth goal of the season. The Galaxy extended their lead following Maya Yoshida’s headed goal off a corner kick in the 30th minute to go up 3-0.
The Earthquakes got on the scoreboard before halftime as a deflected ball from a free-kick landed on Rodrigues to head into the back of the net.
The Galaxy once regained its three-goal cushion following an excellent transition moment that Riqui Puig finished off. The Spaniard’s near-post goal made the crowd of 25,335 at Dignity Health Sports Park explode in the 56th minute. Despite having a three-goal lead once again, the game was far from over.
The Earthquakes’ Benji Kikanovic got on the end of Cristian Espinoza’s cross to head the ball past goalkeeper John McCarthy at the far post two minutes after Puig’s goal.
The momentum of the game switched in San Jose’s favor following substitute Eriq Zavaleta's foul on Jeremy Ebobisse in the box. The central defender was given a red card for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity nine minutes after he entered the game. Ebobisse converted his spot kick to cut the lead down to one with 18 minutes left in the match.
The Galaxy maintained their lead until the final whistle, securing a return to the top spot in the Western Conference and tying for first place in the Supporters' Shield race.
“I want to be clear, I am really happy we win three points and we are in the top of the league. But I think that if we want to win this MLS, I think we need to be more focused.
- Riqui Puig to reporters postgame
Killa P’s Come to Life Together
All three of the LA Galaxy’s Designated Players scored in a MLS match for the first time since 2016. Pec, Paintsil, and Puig found their rhythm in the game and ways to affect the match in certain situations.
Paintsil made his impact on set pieces - where the Galaxy became beneficiaries instead of at the wrong end of deadball scenarios.
It was the Ghanian’s cross from a free kick that won the penalty kick that he eventually converted. His corner kick delivery then found Yoshida in space which led to LA’s third goal. Paintsil establishing himself as an excellent deliverer of set pieces gives the Galaxy another dimension of attack.
Gabriel Pec's direct style of play ensures that the Galaxy always has an outlet during transitions and is a threat to the opponent’s backline. His speed and dribbling ability make him so difficult to defend - especially since teams have to keep in mind that Paintsil is on the other side.
Having a direct player like that is exactly what can get the most of Puig in the midfield. Puig tends to play quick one-two passes and he can also play the long ball for his DP wingers to chase after.
“It's more for you, the DPs, we need to be in the top always to make good performance,” said Puig postgame. All three DPs scoring and racking up assists is a guaranteed way to find success in MLS.
Paintsil also chimed in on all three DPs scoring saying, “[Us] three scoring goals is really an amazing thing…. we hope for more, and we hope for more. And especially the most important thing is the club. The more we win, the more it makes for an individual to showcase himself.”
The Galaxy hopes all three DPs will continue to find their form in MLS and score in more games together. You’re just starting to see the play of all three being raised as the season goes on.
The mentality to hold on
The Galaxy had to sweat for the 90 minutes as their three-goal lead chipped away in the second half. The Earthquakes had some lucky moments that led to goals and worked well to get back into the game.
The deflection off the wall is the sole reason why Rodrigues scored the Quake’s opener. Ebobisse forced Zavaleta to get into emergency defense mode and forced him to commit a red card-worthy offense. Greg Vanney gave a good explanation postgame of how the chaos of the match came to life as the game went on.
“Most attacks don't finish in goals; they finish in turnovers. And now what's happening in between those lines is nothing. So now they play out of it, and now we are backing and we are retreating going into defending, and that becomes an end-to-end game, which is anybody's game. Even if you're up 3-0, it could be anybody's game.
- Greg Vanney
With the lead cut down to one with more than 15 minutes left in the game, LA had to close out the game and did just that. “We just let teams keep being in the game. You know, they are going to live off that. Everybody put in the work. The guys that came in did a good job and closed the game out,” said Edwin Cerrillo postgame.
“As you can see, we managed the circumstances, and we did what we had to do. We work really hard as a team, and as you can see, the defenders did really a great job. Our keeper [made] really good saves,” Paintsil told reporters.
The home-field advantage was present in this game as the sell-out crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park was key to closing out the victory. It would be much harder to keep all three points if LA was the road team in this scenario.
“I think that we need to be more compact and we need to play better, and for sure, these type of games, we need to finish the game and to make more goals,” said Puig. The Galaxy needs to work on closing out games at home but you’ll take the victory any way you can.
LA’s Swiss Army Knife
Weeks after filling in at Center Back, Cerrillo played at right back for the Galaxy. Miki Yamane was out due to a bone bruise and Mauricio Cuevas was dealing with sickness that limited him to 25 minutes off the bench.
“[Cerrillo] got enough athleticism, enough experience, to try to manage the side. So I thought he did fine and did a nice job just helping us under the circumstances,” said Vanney to the media.
Cerrllio played the position very conservatively as expected to keep the Galaxy’s back three shape in possession. It was Julian Aude on the other side of the pitch who pushed forward instead of Cerrillo. Aside from getting beat on a cross that led to San Jose’s second goal, Cerrillo put up a respectable performance in a position he’s not accustomed to playing.
“Someone needed to step up and [Vanney] wanted me to play that position, so I had to. And to be honest, I felt comfortable. I did my role. I played how I needed to play and the other guys did their thing. I'm just happy to contribute to this win,” said Cerrillo.
The 23-year-old is versatile enough to play anywhere in the midfield and in the backline. This is highly beneficial for the Galaxy, which continues to face a shortage of depth at center back and central midfield positions.