COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. — Charlotte FC defeated the LA Galaxy 3-0 in the first game of the Coachella Valley Invitational on Wednesday, the third preseason game for the G’s. The first half ended in a scoreless draw, with neither goalkeeper seriously threatened. The Galaxy fielded an academy team in the second half with the exception of central defender Chris Mavinga and John McCarthy from the first team. Charlotte capitalized on three goals from Enzo Capetti, an unnamed trialist, and Hamady Diop.
Like St. Louis, Charlotte attempted to press the G’s. Riqui Puig ended that tactic in short order. Dropping deep to receive the ball from the back line, he “Puiged” the ball all over the park, breaking lines off the dribble and cutting out defenders with deft passes. Yes, “Puiging” is now a verb, because nobody plays the game like Riqui. Unfortunately, it will take some time for Diego Fagundez, Miguel Berry, and company to anticipate his unique abilities. The G’s barely registered a shot on goal.
Eriq Zavaleta partnered with Miki Yamane on the right side of defense while Maya Yoshida moved to left center back next to debutant John Nelson. The four stayed connected throughout the first half, giving McCarthy very little to do. Ball movement through the midfield improved, making room for Puig by moving into the box-to-box Mark Delgado number eight role.
Backup players Edwin Cerrillo and Gino Vivi had their moments, but for the most part, they simply maintained possession when given the opportunity to move the ball quickly. The youngsters, along with Nelson, struggled to keep up with the speed of the game, often frozen in place with Puig on the ball.
At the seventeen-minute mark, Puig attempted a sixty-yard pass to Vivi on the right wing. The Charlotte’s left defender easily intercepted. Many would blame Puig for a poor pass, but Vivi did nothing to set up the run, so the defender could simply face the pass without worrying about the attacker on his shoulder. Puig usually holds the ball when players fail to make space or make runs. Perhaps out of frustration, he launched this one.
Around the twentieth minute Charlotte nearly scored by exploiting a huge gap on the Galaxy left side vacated by Puig. Fagundez raced to recover from his advanced position to slow the attack. With Fagundez and Nelson defending an overloaded situation, Charlotte recycled twice before launching a dangerous cross. The header narrowly missed the far post.
Either Puig needs to take some defensive responsibility, or the midfield must shift to restore balance to prevent counterattacks. Fagundez took responsibility from thereafter, hampering the Galaxy attack.
In the twenty-sixth minute, Puig played a firm pass to feet that Berry flicked in behind for Gino Vivi. Vivi did not anticipate the pass but showed good acceleration, flashing a cross-shot across the front of the goal. Berry could not follow his pass quickly enough to get on the end of it. Fagundez had taken up a more defensive position to cover the space Charlotte had been exploiting when he could have been crashing the back post to score.
Wholesale changes at halftime left Mavinga next to Ravino at the back and an academy team in front of them. In the fifty-fifth minute, a fifty-yard gap developed between the Galaxy defense and offensive line. Ravino and Cuevas pushed up to close the space, but Mavinga failed to join them.
A simple switch through the goalkeeper across the back by Charlotte left their midfielders in acres of space with no pressure. A simple diagonal run forward exposed Mavinga with no cover. The attacker won the ball and calmly passed it to the right side of the goal.
Two minutes later, Charlotte scored again, intercepting a soft pass out of the back. Micovic stopped the first shot, but the rebound fell to Charlotte, who easily scored. Charlotte would score again on a direct free kick from outside the box before the match ended.
It is hard to remember when the Galaxy maintained a sound defensive position throughout the first half. With Puig roaming the midfield, they created overloads and opportunities to stretch the defense. Players like Pec and Paintsil (maybe) will benefit from the sound defensive structure displayed in the first half. The return of Gaston Bruman, Jalen Neal, and Martin Caceres should solidify the shape even more.