It’s been a week since the LA Galaxy last played a game, and there are still three days until their next game on October 2nd at the Colorado Rapids.
The players enjoy the time to relax with family, travel, and recover while Greg Vanney and the coaching staff work on a plan for the final three games of the regular season and Playoffs.
As summer slowly starts to give way to fall, the 2024 MLS Season is coming to a fast close. The LA Galaxy have already played 31 matches and have just three games left on their schedule before their first playoff round.
With 91% of the season behind them, Greg Vanney and his players have earned 58 points, enough for first place in the Western Conference and second place in the Supporter’s Shield race.
They’ve played some of the most entertaining games across the league this year and look to be good value to make a deep run in the playoffs.
The LA Galaxy can thank some impressive improvements on both sides of the ball for their good fortune.
They’ve scored 63 conference-best goals and have made history by becoming the first team in MLS to have four different players reach double-digits in terms of goals scored in the same season. The Galaxy have also been better at preventing the ball from entering their own net, conceding 11 goals less than they did at the same point last year.
The LA Galaxy are currently the kings of the West and have made Dignity Health Sports Park their castle with the best home record in the entire league. They’ve also drastically improved their away form, jumping from the 24th-best away team out of 29 teams in MLS in 2023 to the 12th-best away team in 2024, per footystats.org.
The Will Kuntz-led front office has decided to honor a contract clause set by his predecessor, which sees Greg Vanney extended as the Galaxy’s Head Coach through to 2025 as a result of securing a playoff berth. It also doesn’t hurt Vanney’s case for staying that his name has appeared among some pundit’s finalists for MLS 2024 Coach of the Year.
There seem to be so many things falling into the Galaxy’s favor as the season approaches its decisive stage.
They sit atop their conference and lead it in points per game with 1.8, suggesting that the Galaxy are likely to lose the stop spot and its accompanying home playoff matches.
They’ll also enjoy more time off than their rivals before the playoffs, having to play just three more games in the same time that their division rivals have to squeeze in up to five.
Barring any unexpected dip in form, the LA Galaxy will enter the playoffs rested and at the ground where they are unbeaten, giving them a fantastic platform for a deep run, where they will only have to travel away should they face Inter Miami in the final if the standings hold.
With much of the hard work already done, what matters now is ensuring as many players as possible remain healthy and uninjured for as long as possible.
Greg Vanney must perform a load management masterclass during the final three games of the regular season, requiring him to be comfortable playing with his entire roster.
Star players like the Triple P’s and Dejan Joveljic are clearly assets worth protecting. Still, depth options like Diego Fagundez, Miguel Berry, Edwin Cerillo, Gaston Brugman, John Nelson, Mauricio Cuevas, and Emiro Garcés would be significant losses as well.
Each of them has played a massive role in the Galaxy’s success this year, and their teammates would certainly miss any of them in the playoffs should they get injured during this crucial run of games.
The LA Galaxy are potentially nine games away from winning a record sixth MLS Cup, a decade after their last title in 2014.
The most challenging leg of the race to see is upon them.
Still, if the front office, coaching staff, and players can continue delivering as they have so far this year, there is little to suggest that the LA Galaxy class of 2024 shouldn’t be able to secure the title and announce to the rest of the league that the Galaxy are back.
PHOTO: Andre Bannis/LAXSN
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