Following weeks of draws and losses, Los Angeles Football Club must dust themselves off before Wednesday, September 25th, the U.S. Open Cup final against Sporting Kansas City.
LAFC has fallen off a cliff in the last few weeks after losing the League Cup final to the Columbus Crew 3-1. Jacen Russell-Rowe and Cucho Hernandez’s last-minute goals will haunt LAFC for a long time, and it seems it is still in their heads.
LAFC hasn’t recovered since losing the League Cup final, and the Black and Gold haven’t won since knocking out the Seattle Sounders from the U.S. Cup semi-final.
The Black and Gold also haven’t won an MLS game since July against the Seattle Sounders before going to the League Cup.
LAFC has lost three of its last five games and drawn two. It has lost to the Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, and recently to FC Dallas, losing 3-1 at Toyota Stadium. These last few weeks were reminiscent of last season.
After losing to Mexican club Leon in the CONCACAF final, LAFC couldn’t recover and lost a few games. Therefore, the mental state of the players and coach remains the same; they haven’t changed, which is concerning.
LAFC may have one of the best teams in MLS, but its mentality needs to be improved. Since joining the club two years ago, Steven Cherundolo has used similar tactics and has lost four out of five finals.
However, Carlos Vela’s return could help LAFC in the last few months before the season ends.
Meanwhile, Sporting Kansas City is not doing well this season, sitting in 12th place. After beating Inly Eleven 2-0 in the U.S. Open Cup, SKC lost two draws once and won one game.
Although on paper LAFC is favorites to win their first U.S. Open Cup SKC can go for the kill and win their 5th tieing with Maccabee Los Angeles and Bethlehem Steel F.C. which they no longer exist.
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