El Tráfico 2020, Round 2: A Chicha and Vela-less Affair
The 9th installment of El Tráfico (across all competitions), and 2nd one for the 2020 MLS regular season, comes at us today from Dignity Health Sports Park, home of the LA Galaxy. The first matchup this season occurred only a few weeks ago, but what’s happened with the two LA teams since?
The Galaxy for their end have not lost since defeating LAFC at the Banc of California Stadium. Since then, they defeated archrival San Jose in the Cali Clásico, followed by a win over Western conference rivals, Portland. Both games were won by a score of 3-2. The score here being an important stat to point out, as both games were won without the Galaxy’s star forward, Chicharito Hernandez. It would be easy to think that without Chicharito in the front for the G’s they would struggle to score many goals, and normally that would be correct. It is no secret that the Galaxy has struggled offensively in the recent past. Even during the days of Zlatan, it was still a very much one-sided offensive side. The entirety of their offense relied heavily on Ibrahimović; luckily he was able to deliver. Fast forward to today, his replacement Chicharito has been injured and out of play, however, the Galaxy have still managed to win and score goals without him. Evidenced by their last three games, all of which they’ve scored a minimum of 2 goals or more. That brings us to today’s match, which will again be another Chicha-less affair, and can possibly be the G’s fourth straight win for the season. Further evidence still of the good collective effort the Galaxy is putting forth as of recent is the fact that, arguably, their best player on the team has also not seen a lot of action due to injury. That would be Jona Dos Santos. The Galaxy’s midfield workhorse has been out of action for quite a few weeks, subbing in for a few minutes here and there recently, but fortunately the Galaxy have found a way to persevere. The good news for Dos Santos and the Galaxy is that the Mexican superstar is progressing positively. It will remain to be seen if it will be enough to earn him a start for today’s game. Other players to keep an eye on; Efrain Alvarez and Julian Araujo. Both Mexican American youngsters have seized upon their recent opportunities given to earn themselves starting roles with the team and have contributed greatly to the G’s recent offensive efforts. Alvarez himself even scoring his first MLS goal against Portland last week.
In regard to LAFC, they have had a more inconsistent last few weeks leading up to this game. Following their loss at home to the Galaxy, LAFC travelled up north to Cascadia and lost 3-1 to the defending MLS champs, Seattle Sounders. Just like the Galaxy losing their start player, so too did LAFC prior to their disastrous match against Seattle. During the previous El Trafico loss, Carlos Vela had to exit the game due to a left knee injury which has him sidelined indefinitely as of now. The difference between the two Angelino teams however is that LAFC is normally an extremely offensive team, with or without Carlos Vela. Recent proof of this being their last match against San Jose, which the LA team went on to win by a scandalous score of 5-1. Following the Seattle defeat, a new fire seems to have been lit under LAFC, with changes even being made in the defense, mainly the inclusion now of Mexican goalkeeper, Pablo Sisniega in the starting lineup. Despite these recent mishaps for LAFC, they still remain one point ahead of the LA Galaxy, despite having the same amount of wins this season.
The 4th place LAFC will want to create some distance between themselves and the G’s, and the Galaxy for their end, will look to see if they have what it takes to make it four wins in a row. A win today for either team has the ability to launch them into the top 3 of the Western Conference, and most surprisingly perhaps, all without their star Mexican forwards.
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