The LA Galaxy proved they can roll with the punches and have earned six points in their last two home games following Wednesday night’s win over FC Dallas. Riqui Puig gets ready to announce big news on Saturday with a new look.
Humpday suddenly becomes more tolerable with midweek LA Galaxy action. 19,505 supporters made it to Dignity Health Sports Park on Wednesday, May 29th and got to watch their team take a 3-1 win over FC Dallas.
Greg Vanney knew that he wouldn’t be able to count with designated player Joseph Paintsil, as the Ghanaian continues recovering from a thigh strain that will keep him out for multiple weeks. Gaston Brugman, however, was an unexpected last minute exclusion. Vanney later revealed that Brugman had triggered a nerve in the knee he had surgery in and was dropped as a precaution.
Mark Delgado seemed happy to step in on what was meant to be his rest day. He and the rest of the LA Galaxy seemed to revel in playing at home during the evening as they looked dangerous from the starting whistle.
Riqui Puig started on the left hand side but would glide and spray passes towards Gabriel Pec on the right. As the player with the most gravity on the Galaxy, it was great to see Puig draw in defenders to the left before beating them and finding Pec in the newly opened space on the right.
The through ball from left to right towards Pec was the order of the day and it didn’t take long for the Galaxy to start cooking it up. Mark Delgado made a simple, quality filtered pass to Gabriel Pec. The young Brazilian looked to be in the full spirit of jogo bonito as he calmly dropped his defender before making a square pass towards Dejan Joveljic. The Serbian didn’t miss as his shot from near the top of the box put the Galaxy 1-0 up within four minutes.
The LA Galaxy continued dominating and creating chances nearly every time they got on the ball. It seemed there were plenty of goals in this game, a fact that might have worried Greg Vanney. He’s mentioned in previous press conferences his concerns about the team’s maturity in games where they feel they have the chance to score.
This concern would be proved valid as Patrickson Delgado suddenly scored a goal in the 21st minute to put FC Dallas level. The Texans clawed their way to parity on the scoreline and the pitch but the first half ended in a 1-1 draw, largely thanks to a crazy-looking offside Galaxy goal.
After an electric (literally) violin performance during the break, the Galaxy came back revitalized. They quickly settled into a period of control that Dallas couldn’t seem to stop, except through hard fouls. They would earn 5 yellow cards that night, capped off by a second yellow and red card to Nkosi Tafari in the 82nd minute.
By that point, Dejan Joveljic had already scored his second of the night with the night’s second penalty. After going down in the box he took the penalty and slotted it into the bottom right corner to put the Galaxy back up 2-1 in the 65’ minute.
The LA Galaxy seemed to be enjoying their football regardless, but they were plainly having fun after the red card. It’s hard to tell if Riqui Puig looked more like a kid in a candy shop or a bull in a china shop when he found himself on the ball in midfield with acres of space in front of him, but it’s easy to appreciate the magic he made.
Puig drove into the open space, muscled off a defender and beat another with his trademark close touch before hitting a travela into the bottom left corner to make it 3-1 in the 94th minute.
After the match, Greg Vanney commented on the solid performances he’s received from every player on the team. His squad has had to dig deep in every sense in order to secure the current six-match unbeaten run, which sees the team in second place in the Western Conference.
After securing wins against both Texas teams in their last two matches, the Galaxy once again have a chance to achieve what up to this point has been impossible under Greg Vanney: three wins in a row.
In his presser, Dejan Joveljic seemed confident that this Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire could finally be the one to break the streak. After commenting on how satisfying his current run of form is Joveljic said,“I think finally we are going to win three games in a row. I think it’s a perfect time before the summer break…”
With Dejan Joveljic and the rest of the LA Galaxy seemingly ready to make some history, supporters can’t wait for Saturday. This is especially true as Riqui Puig and the club’s official accounts have been hinting towards a big announcement to come after the game. A new teaser featuring a doormat that reads “Home Sweet Home” heavily suggests that Riqui Puig’s new contract extension will be made official after the match against Chicago.
After such a strong performance against Dallas and with all this in mind, Saturday can’t come soon enough.
PHOTO: LA Galaxy
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