Cellar-dwelling Galaxy take aim at rival LAFC
Los Angeles FC will get what has traditionally been one of their tougher tests of the season when they play host to the rival Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.
The Galaxy might be in the middle of one of the worst seasons in franchise history. However, even amid a historic winless streak to open the season, they still managed to forge a 2-2 tie when they met LAFC at home on May 18.
That draw came as the defending MLS champion Galaxy were on a run of 16 consecutive matches without a victory, the longest to start a season in MLS history.
The Galaxy (3-14-5, 15 points) are 3-2-2 since earning their first win of the season on May 31. They moved out of last place briefly but are back in the basement after a 2-1 home loss to Austin FC on Wednesday.
Joseph Paintsil scored the lone goal for the Galaxy, his fourth of the season to put him in a tie for second-most on the team behind Marco Reus (five goals, seven assists).
'Hopefully, (the defeat) is a reminder again that you can't go to LAFC and be in the middle ground intensity-wise,' Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said. 'You've got to show up with maximum intensity. Everybody knows that and looks forward to this game. They know what's at stake.'
LAFC (10-5-5, 35 points) went 0-2-1 at the Club World Cup and did not advance out of group play but are 3-1-0 since. They earned a 1-0 victory on the road against Minnesota United on Wednesday.
Denis Bouanga scored on a penalty kick late in the first half for his team-leading 11th goal of the season. He also has seven assists.
'(Bouanga) can beat you with physicality, he can beat you with technique, on the dribble or as a pure finisher,' LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. 'For attackers, the season is always up and down, but we try to see the work in between, and for me, it has been very consistent over the past three years.'
Playing without defender Aaron Long, who ruptured his left Achilles tendon last week and is done for the season, LAFC still managed to extend their scoreless streak to 340 minutes, going back to a June 29 loss against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Canada News.Net
8 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Sam Surridge ties Messi for MLS goals lead as Nashville blanks Toronto
(Photo credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images) Sam Surridge scored his MLS lead-tying 18th goal to push Nashville SC near the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a 1-0 victory over visiting Toronto FC on Saturday night. Surridge's first-half tally pulled him even with Lionel Messi, who scored his 17th and 18th goals earlier Saturday in Miami's 5-1 home win over the New York Red Bulls. The win ensured Nashville (14-5-5, 47 points) will finish the weekend no worse than second in the East, and first if Cincinnati fails to win its match at Real Salt Lake later Saturday. Nashville won their second straight and sixth out of seven, and have lost just once in their last 18 in all competitions dating back to April 26. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson made four saves to keep Toronto (5-12-6, 21 points) in the match, while Joe Willis kept his ninth clean sheet while not having to make a single stop. The Reds were shut out for the first time in six games, scoring in the last three despite the departure of Italian attacking stars Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne at the beginning of July. Two of Johnson's best stops came against 2022 MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar. The first of those came in the 28th minute when the German attacker unleashed a left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty box that appeared bound for the bottom right corner. Unfortunately for Johnson, the rebound of his fine sprawling stop rolled only as far as the feet of Surridge, who finished before the keeper could regain his footing to attempt a second save. Toronto thought they had a precious chance to level the score when referee Sergii Boiko ruled Walker Zimmerman had hauled down Deandre Kerr in the penalty area in the 60th minute. Boiko was summoned to the replay monitor, and after a review, it was ruled the foul had occurred fractionally outside the box, resulting in a direct free kick. Johnson had another exceptional one-on-one save on Mukhtar in the 79th minute. On the other end, Toronto got into a few promising positions late but failed to make Willis stop any of their seven total shots.
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pec has 2 goals, Yoshida scores in stoppage time for Galaxy in 3-3 tie with LAFC
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gabriel Pec scored two goals and Maya Yoshida added a goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time for the LA Galaxy in a 3-3 tie with Los Angeles FC on Saturday night. Eddie Segura was shown a straight red card (violent conduct) in the first minute of stoppage time and LAFC played a man down the rest of the way. LAFC (10-5-7) has its string of three consecutive wins — all shutouts by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris — snapped. Yoshida flicked in a header, off an arcing ball-in played by defender Mauricio Cuevas, from the center of the area to cap the scoring. Denis Bouanga scored twice for LAFC. Bouanga has scored at least one goal in four consecutive games and has seven goal contributions (five goals, two assists) during that span. Pec converted from the penalty spot in the 36th minute and added a goal in the 79th — finishing off a string of quick crisp passes with a first-touch shot from the right-center of the area — for the Galaxy (3-14-7). The 24-year-old Pec, who had 30 goal contributions (16 goals, 14 assists) as an MLS rookie last season, has five goals and three assists this season. The Galaxy is 8-7-7 against LAFC all time in the regular season. Bouanga opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, his sixth consecutive game against the Galaxy with a goal. Bouanga perfectly timed his run onto a well-placed ball-ahead played by Ryan Hollingshead a blasted a first-touch shot into the net. Javairo Dilrosun stopped a low cross played from the left side by Nate Ordaz and then flicked in the finish from the right corner of the 6-yard box to give LAFC a 2-0 lead in the 31st. On a breakaway, Bouanga outraced the defense and then beat goalkeeper Novak Micovic, who crept off his line, with a rolling shot from near the penalty spot to make it 3-1 in the 67th. The Galaxy, the defending MLS Cup champions, lost 2-1 at home against Austin on Wednesday to snap their season-long three-game unbeaten streak. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
9 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Surridge scores, Willis earns clean sheet as Nashville beats Toronto 1-0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sam Surridge scored his 18th goal of the season, Joe Willis earned his ninth clean sheet and Nashville beat Toronto FC 1-0 in Major League Soccer action on Saturday night. Nashville (14-5-5), which won its ninth home game this season, set a franchise record for wins during the regular season, topping 13 set in 2022 and '23. Nashville is unbeaten in its last six matches against Toronto (5-12-6), outscoring the Canadian side 8-3. Nashville is also undefeated (3-0-0) against Toronto when Surridge scores. Surridge scored in the 28th minute. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson made a diving save off of Hany Mukhtar's left-footed shot outside of the box but it spilled to Surridge for an easy finish. Surridge became the 10th player in MLS history to score at least 18 goals in his team's first 24 games of a season and the first to do so since Carlos Vela and Josef Martínez in 2019. The shutout victory marked Willis' 76th career MLS regular- season clean sheet and his 101st career MLS regular season win. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP soccer:
