MLS regular season: Atlanta United 4-0 LA Galaxy
Two teams going in completely opposite directions as the Atlanta United trashed LA Galaxy and likely ended any slim hopes the Galaxy had for a post-season run.
More importantly the future of the LA Galaxy does not necessarily look bright. The departure of Robbie Keane was never compensated by a quality forward, Giovanni Dos Santos has been disappointing and Alessandrini only good at times.
This season is lost and the team is clearly gearing towards next year already. Coach Onalfo was dismissed earlier this summer after his disastrous record with the club and the club replaced him with Seattle Sounders‘ former coach Schmid but with the same results losing 5 out last 98 since the dismissals. Now the club’s manager look forward to bring back the team into the spotlight for the 2018 MLS season.
On the opposite side, Atlanta United is thriving in their first MLS season and they are very likely to make it to the playoffs. They have a great fan base and a solid record which is what the Galaxy seemed to have lost in less than a year…
LA Galaxy coach Schmid reflects on the loss:
“You have to be able to defend in order to attack. You have to be able to hold onto the ball, and right now we are not doing a good job defending, and we’re not holding onto the ball well enough. We were focused. We concentrated. I challenged them at halftime.
I said, It is a new game. We can’t lose the second half. We didn’t win the second half, but we ended up with a 0-0 tie. We have to be focused and show to ourselves that we can play disciplined at the right moments and at the right times.”
So with the LA Galaxy being horrible and with the signing of Mexican star Carlos Vela, the new team in LA – Los Angeles Football Club – has a chance to seduce many fans in their inaugural season next year. It will be very interesting how the battle of Los Angeles turns out to be?