Two-Goal Performance From Marco Reus Gives the LA Galaxy a Much-Needed Win Over Real Salt Lake
A gritty win, two Reus goals, and a LA Galaxy locker room that needed this win over Real Salt Lake
The LA Galaxy recorded its second win at home following a 2-1 win against Real Salt Lake on Sunday. The victory breaks a three-game stretch without a win across all competitions.
Marco Reus opened the scoring in the ninth minute of the match with a free kick. The German recorded his third goal of the season as he continues to be one of the most important contributors on the team.
LA played with aggression in the first half and looked to be physical in duels across the pitch. However, RSL found its moment to get one back minutes before the first half. A shot from Zavier Gozo hit the post and then hit the back of keeper J.T Marcinkowski and into the back of the net.
The second half provided a drop off in intensity for the Galaxy. But mostly due to personnel changes.
Jakob Glesnes came off at halftime for Edwin Cerrillo. The plan was for the Norwegian to play just 45 minutes in his return to the pitch. Cerrillo would then just last 22 minutes before coming off early due to what Head Coach Greg Vanney called “knee lockups”.
LA was given the golden opportunity to take the lead after Sam Junqua brought down Wynder in the box. Reus took the penalty and finished it into the bottom corner to score his second of the night in the 85th minute.
“Guys have given everything in my opinion, and to just kind of dig as deep as they did today to get that one across the line is massive for that locker room and for those guys,” said Vanney postgame.
Reus Shines in Primetime
“(Reus) just brings something that nobody else on the field brings for us, and we need that. I think it elevates the opportunities for Joe and Gabe, and it helps in our midfield to give us something that is an experience that I don’t think we have with the rest of the group,” added Vanney.
Reus took the spotlight in the primetime matchup with his two goals. He’s the most technical player on the team and showed his individual quality during Sunday’s match.
“The other guys are grinders. They’re hard workers. They’re facilitators of the game. But Marco is the creative guy who sees something different, who has the technique and all those things,” said Vanney.
Reus finished the match with two goals, three chances created, and 38/41 passes completed on the night. The individual performance was sublime, but Reus was solely focused on the team’s result.
“I don’t care honestly,” said Reus about scoring two goals on the night.
“What I care about is winning, and I don’t care if I score, I don’t care if I give assist. I just care about my team to win games, and that’s why I’m here,” said the former German player of the year.
Rebuilding the Fortress
“You can feel it in the locker room,” said goalkeeper J.T Marcinkowski about what the win meant to the Galaxy.
“We’ve talked a lot the past few days of determination, battling, being able to fight for one another on the field. I think our performance tonight really embodied that and showed us kind of that’s the least that we can do for every single game going forward,” he added.
LA has had a disappointing stretch of home games since their victory over Charlotte FC on Matchday two. Losses to Sporting Kansas City and Minnesota United in league play and then elimination to Toluca in Concacaf Champions League are not the ideal results to build Dignity Health Sports Park into a fortress.
“It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest game by any means, but we kind of knew that going in with the way the Salt Lake plays and the way they set up their team. We really wanted to outwork them. We wanted to be the aggressors, set the tone. I thought the performance was really solid,” said Marcinkowski.
The aggression was noticeable on the night. Players swarmed after the opponent and looked to make RSL deal with pressure. The physicality was shown through fouls on the night.
Reus was happy with the intensity with which the LA Galaxy came out during the game. Despite playing three games in the span of eight days, the Galaxy looked ready to match the physicality and intensity RSL would bring on the night.
“I told the guys that we just can’t go out and just play. We have to play dirty at some point in different situations on the field, and we did it, especially in the first half,” said Reus. “The second half, the energy goes down a little bit, and then we were not struggling, but we were always aware of situations where they could be dangerous. At the end, it was just a mental win.”
The LA Galaxy’s next test comes in the form of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Reus will match up against one of his oldest rivals and fellow former German player of the year, Thomas Müller.