Three takeaways from the LA Galaxy's lackluster 2-0 loss to Austin FC

Analyzing what exactly went wrong for the LA Galaxy in its afternoon showdown in Austin

Photo Courtesy of LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy experienced their second loss of the season, falling 2-0 to Austin FC in an away game on Saturday afternoon.

Greg Vanney’s side conceded first in the 7th minute of the match to Diego Rubio. The Galaxy lost the ball in their half and Austin’s forwards used good movement to get Rubio’s shot past LA ‘keeper John McCarthy.

Austin had all the momentum in the opening 25 minutes of the game and capitalized on the Galaxy sending players forward. Alex Ring won the ball in Austin’s half and then played a long ball to Jader Obrian to chase down. The Colombian’s pace was too much for LA’s center backs to chase down as he doubled the lead in the 19th minute.

The Galaxy couldn’t create many clear-cut chances as Austin began to retreat players and clog the penalty box. LA finished the game without scoring a goal for the first time this season. Here are some key takeaways from this fixture.

“We were not enough today, and no one deserves to talk anything to be honest. I don't deserve anything for my performance. We deserve to lose today. We are very disappointed. We have to learn from this defeat.”
- Maya Yoshida

Berry is not the answer

Dejan Joveljić missed the match in Austin (and is set to miss a few weeks according to Vanney) due to a Hip injury. Miguel Berry started in his place at striker for the second time this season.

As the game progressed, you could see Berry struggled to have an impact in the final third. The Spaniard’s work rate on both sides of the ball is good but he lacks that killer instinct you expect to see in a forward. Berry struggled to get into good positions and didn’t offer much on the ball either. In fact, his loss of possession in the 19th minute is what led to Austin’s second goal.

Joveljić had one of his best games when it comes to build-up play and possession last weekend, those aren’t Berry’s strengths and the difference between the two forwards was on display in Austin. It was no surprise to see him taken off at halftime.

“[Berry] has not played a ton of minutes with the group and I felt a little bit just timing and rhythm and certain things there weren't as precise as we would like them to be”, said Vanney postgame.

“He always puts in a shift and he's always going to do some of the work. Again, it just comes down to how connected is the work to everybody else and what we are trying to get done for the day”, said Vanney.

Berry has yet to put in a signature shift in 229 minutes of action this season. That might be too small of a sample size but at the same time, there hasn’t been a moment where Berry has flashed goalscoring potential. Going forward, this might be a big issue - especially with Joveljić set to miss some time.

Struggling to change the dynamic

The LA Galaxy needs to start a game in control and on the scoreboard first, it’s been the club’s recipe for early success this season. When LA is forced to find a goal, other teams know it’s time to bunker down and force the SoCal side to low-percentage shots from outside the box. Don’t take my word for it but Vanney’s:

“We've got to do a better job of not starting slow and getting ourselves behind the game one and two goals because then it certainly incentivizes the opposition to sit a little bit lower and really kind of protect the face of the goal”

- Vanney

Austin clogged up the middle of the pitch as the game went on and was content giving LA space out wide. Crossing the ball into a crowded penalty box isn’t the most effective way to create chances and something you see the Galaxy attempt a few times and even fewer times coming out successfully. Instead, the ball has to be passed around from side to side, and hope that the movement allows for a gap to open where you can play a dangerous pass.

“The speed of our final actions when we are in possessions and we do find those moments that we need to break, with the timing of things, needs to be sharper. I feel like we weren't so sharp on that side of things so that we can get to the necessary spots”

- Vanney

Like with Berry, Gabriel Pec struggled to stamp his mark in the game. The Brazilian is at his best when the game is open and he can make those direct runs into space. With the LA Galaxy chasing the game and Austin bunkering down, Pec wasn’t able to use his game-changing speed to create danger.

Joseph Paintsil moved to center forward in the second half and his movement was much more lively and unpredictable compared to Berry. He was making quality runs but LA struggled to find him consistently and he received the ball in areas of the pitch that weren’t a threat to Austin.

If the Galaxy can work on that timing, they’ll be much better facing teams sitting in low blocks. This a development they need in order to become true contenders.

“If a team is sitting that deep, you don't necessarily want all of your guys to be kind of small guys in the box. You'd have to have some kind of presence in the box, and having shifted Miguel out, we lost the size”

- Vanney

A lack of size when playing low-block teams makes it much more difficult to find a breakthrough moment. At 6′ 3″, Berry is the Galaxy's major outlet in the air aside from the club’s center backs. He wasn’t on the pitch in the second half which meant that the Galaxy had to rely on a pinpoint cross to someone or be the first one to win second ball in the penalty box.

The Galaxy didn’t have either today and it made Austin’s job defending much easier. Berry as a second-half substitute would’ve changed the dynamic for the better instead of playing at the start - the Galaxy couldn’t use that scenario today given the injury to Joveljić.

A much-needed return

The silver lining of this game was Jalen Neal’s return to the pitch for the first time in 2024. The 20-year-old center back broke into the LA Galaxy’s first team last season and showed his talents as one of the best prospects in the nation. His first appearance this season was rusty but came at a much-needed time.

Austin was able to get in transition against the Galaxy often and their pace was too much for 35-year-old Maya Yoshida and 37-year-old Martin Caceres. The Uruguayan has been dealing with some issues that have prevented him from going 90 minutes for the Galaxy. Vanney mentioned that Caceres had purposefully dropped deeper in order to manage open space better.

The Uruguayan was taken off at halftime and in stepped Neal for the Galaxy. He spent the last two weeks logging minutes for Ventura County FC to work on his match fitness.

“He's going to still continue to have to work towards getting his rhythm and getting a lot of his decisions and things like that, timing, stuff like that worked out just because he has not played in a while but I thought this was a good game because we had a lot of the ball in the second half and he was able to do a lot more just counter-pressing and finding passes and things like that,” said Vanney about Neal’s 45-minute performance.

“He didn't have to do a ton of defensive work which maybe is a good way to get yourself back and going after a long stint away.”

As the season progresses, LA’s older central defenders will need to watch their minutes and need youth to deal with transition moments the Galaxy often finds itself in. Neal’s return to the pitch and Carlos Garces’ imminent arrival add depth to a position that will need to be rotated.

“We need to be as one good, strong group to make solidarity and we keep doing, and Jalen has to show his quality, and he has confidence, for sure. But still, he just came back from a long-term injury so I don't want to push too much for him,” said Yoshida. Neal still has to build his way back up but his return adds much-needed help on the backline.