Rio Tinto Stadium hit record attendance on Saturday night as Real Salt Lake played host to the star-studded Los Angeles Football Club. Entering the match as the best team in the league, LAFC hadn’t lost in a month, while RSL had only found one win during the month of July.
LAFC was also coming off a midweek friendly at SoFi Stadium in the Leagues Cup Showcase which they lost on penalties to Club América. Many wanted to see if that would kill the momentum heading to Salt Lake City.
Game Summary
Momentum certainly wasn’t the issue as the match was open from minute one. Despite the quality of chances lacking, the quality of finishing was superb for both teams in the first half.
It started in the ninth minute when Chicho Arango pulled off a clever pull-back, back-heel combination as the ball fell to him just a couple of yards out from goal. Zac MacMath knew nothing about it as Arango wheeled away in celebration, high-stepping for his 10th goal of the season.
The excitement didn’t last long though, as Sergio Córdova responded with a fantastic two-touch finish of his own when he received the ball at the top of the “D”. A shot that is expected to go in 3% of the time rolled past a diving Crépeau into the near post for the equalizer.
Just five minutes later, Kellyn Acosta buried a shot from a very similar position at the top of the box, a shot that would be expected to go in 5% of the time. The one-timer was his second of the season and put LAFC back into the lead which held into the break as the match slowed.
Real Salt Lake came out with pressure in the second half looking for an early equalizer which almost came twice.
First, there was a melee at the back post off an RSL corner which they were somehow unable to tap in before Ilie Sánchez finally cleared off his own goal line. Then Pablo Ruiz nearly scored the best goal of his life as he let fly from over 30 yards. The shot was dipping and swerving as Crépeau scrambled back to dive for it before it smashed off the crossbar, allowing LAFC fans to exhale.
That scare pushed LAFC forward as Ilie Sánchez won the ball in the offensive third and shifted it wide to Opoku. Mahala immediately turned his #22 counterpart Aaron Herrera, leaving him for dead as he laid a pass into the streaking path of Chicho Arango for the striker's brace, and a 3-1 LAFC advantage.
Up 3-1, Los Angeles brought on Brian Rodríguez and Gareth Bale. Not bad substitutions.
The sellout crowd came to see the Welsh superstar and he delivered. In the 87th minute, Gareth Bale made a crossfield run onto the right wing to pick up a pass down the line from Chicho. Justen Glad came over to defend with Ruiz for help but Gareth Bale didn’t care.
Bale simply opened his hips and galloped past Glad, turning the corner on him as he charged toward goal before finishing the run clinically for a perfect reminder of why he is undoubtedly the best player in this league. All you could do was applaud. Even the Real Salt Lake fans did so. An exclamation point from Gareth Bale added to an already emphatic fifth consecutive win for LAFC.
Looking Good
When Giorgio Chiellini and Gareth Bale arrived at LAFC I expected a couple of things. First, I expected Chiellini to bring a mentality to defending that Major League Soccer has simply never seen.
He was once famously quoted saying that malice is part of football. The definition of an “old-school defender”. Chiellini is that "old-school" defender who will do anything to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
In Salt Lake City we finally saw this mentality shine. In the 69th minute, Giorgio Chiellini was slightly out of position as RSL attempted to run in behind, so instead of turning and running to defend the ball over the top, Chiellini decided to bat the pass out of the air as if he were a defensive back in the NFL.
The two-handed spike earned him a well-deserved yellow card, but he had prevented the counter-attack and that is all that mattered to him. It may be controversial or unlikeable from an opponent’s perspective, but Giorgio Chiellini and that defend at all costs mentality that he brings is irreplaceable. He is truly one of a kind.
The second thing is that I expected goals from Gareth Bale upon his arrival, but not just regular goals, special goals. Moments which fans look back on and say, “I was there.”
That is exactly what he provided to the 21,810 people that packed out Rio Tinto to see him play for half an hour on Saturday. The goal was simply sensational, reminiscent of his Copa Del Rey Final goal in which he outpaced Marc Bartra down the left wing for one of the most famous goals of his career. Gareth Bale choosing to play in the most star-studded city in the world is no coincidence.
Gareth Bale is a star himself and will continue to prove why. His shine will only grow brighter.
This next positive can be summed up in one word, FAMILY. LAFC has a "family-type" environment around the club this season and it has been showing in every aspect.
All the players working hard off the ball and sacrificing for their teammates, while recognizing each player's critical role have been evident. This isn’t the result of training or tactical sessions, but the result of the culture created within the locker room.
A number of MLS veterans on this team such as Acosta, Hollingshead, Crépeau and Sánchez consistently refer to the cohesion of the squad as one of the main reasons for success. These are the guys that build the foundation of what it is going to mean to play for LAFC each season. They set the example, and it is something LAFC has been missing in past years.
On the other side, young players like Mahala Opoku also describe the team as a family with these leaders as their older brothers. LAFC seems to have struck the perfect balance with this roster. Not only is it the most talented roster in league history. But the personalities fit like pieces to a puzzle as well.
Areas for Improvement
Obviously, the vast majority of what LAFC has been doing over the past month has been fantastic, but there is always room for improvement. This comes in learning to kill off games with the lead in the second half, a position LAFC has found themselves in a lot recently.
When your team leads by a goal, sitting back and defending is the natural instinct since it is more important to prevent a goal than it is to score one, but this can create issues. The ability to defend in a low-block is essential, but it is not the goal, regardless of the score.
So how do you prevent sitting in a low block for 45 minutes? Possession! Currently, LAFC loves to defend and hit on the counter with the lead. It worked very effectively in this match against RSL
However, defending deep against RSL isn’t the same prospect as doing so against Austin or Seattle in the playoffs. Counter-attacks relieve pressure momentarily. Possession can relieve pressure for sustained periods and thus if LAFC can improve their ability to retain possession while connecting passes to play out of a deep block, it will serve them well come playoffs.
Player Ratings Crépeau: 7 Escobar: 7 Murillo: 8 Chiellini: 7 Palacios: 7.5 Sánchez: 7.5 Acosta: 8.5 Cifuentes: 6.5 Vela: 7 Arango: 9.5 (MOTM) Opoku: 7.5 Rodríguez: 6.5 Bale: 8.5 Méndez: 6.5 Segura: 6.5 Hollingshead: N/A
Comments