CARSON, Calif. — For most of Sunday’s marquee matchup between the LA Galaxy and Inter Miami CF, the Galaxy found the better of the chances. But when it all counted, Lionel Messi and Miami were able to find the tiniest crack in a 10-man Galaxy squad that nearly withstood the maestro and all his tricks.
The 1-1 draw at Dignity Health Sports Park in front of a regular season record crowd of 27,642 was electric for most of the night. New lighting, a DJ booth, Alesso, and many, many celebrities and former players were on hand. The night was an exciting return to soccer in 2024.
Here are my big take aways from night:
PEC AND PAINTSIL ARRIVED WITH VENOM
When Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec were announced on a Friday afternoon press conference, there was true optimism in their signings. But it was theoretical optimism. It was an optimism that was on paper.
But after two superb debuts, that optimism is a real, tangible thing.
Paintsil was quick to get into transition, he ran into the open space, and he caused Miami fits in trying to mark him. He has real “breakaway speed.” His ability to pick up the ball near the sideline and then cut inside was the reason the Galaxy scored their one goal. And to watch Paintsil, Riqui Puig (who took the shot that was saved), Pec (who got the rebound ) and Dejan Joveljic combine on a finishing move was outstanding.
Paintsil finished the night with seven shots and two shots on target.
Pec seems a bit more technical at times than Paintsil and likes to stay wider before attacking on a 1v1 while moving toward goal. Pec got the assist on the goal to Joveljic, and finished the night with one shot on goal.
Both had chances at the net. And both were dynamic when afforded the space to do what they’re best at.
The Galaxy amassed a 3.37 xG on the night and Drake Callender stood on his head to keep it to just one goal. Having speed and talent on the wings really seems to be helping LA.
NOTE: Nobody is asking Dejan Joveljic to do any more than what he did to score his goal. He needs to be ready to tap in easy goals. He needs to do it about 12 times this year. And if he can do that, he’s going to find himself to be one of the top scorers in the league. That being said, he needs to get more than a single shot on goal.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
There was too much complaining by the media about the combined ages of Maya Yoshida and Martin Caceres. They ignored the experience for their ages. Now no one is going to expect those guys to play every minute of every game, but if they were available, you could do a lot worse than combining the experience and technique of both of them. Add in Miki Yamane on the right side and a competent Julian Aude (in this game) on the left, and the Galaxy defense was stout and impenetrable.
Let’s expand that to John McCarthy who stood on his head twice to keep the Galaxy in the game and managed the 90 minutes to near perfection, and a rowdy but under control Edwin Cerrillo and the Galaxy stymied and stumped Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquetes, and Messi. Miami were only able to scrape a .57 xG from this match and Messi’s goal accounts for .38 of that.
NOTE: Cerrillo, by the way, was one of the best players on the field for LA. He didn’t shy away from the challenge with Messi, and he ended up creating turnovers that were dangerous chances for the Galaxy. The Galaxy may have found the future of the no. 6 position for LA. But lets see what happens in the other 33 games this season.
If the Galaxy can repeat this measured, and energetic approach on a weekly basis, the club won’t have to worry about the 67 goals they gave up last year.
A RED CARD AND A MISSED PK
Despite a Puig performance that was mostly outstanding, he did miss a first half penalty kick. And this is a recurring problem for him. When asked about Puig’s PK miss in the post-game press conference, Vanney said that would “Definitely be a topic (for discussion),” about who would be taking PK’s. The Galaxy could have been winning at half time, and that puts a damper on what should have been a celebration of dominance and an opening three points.
But it wouldn’t have been a draw if Mark Delgado wasn’t sent off for a second yellow card in the 88th minute of the game. He received his first yellow card somewhat dubiously when center referee Gabriele Ciampi stopped a Miami throw-in after Delgado kicked a ball away — this is time wasting or delaying a restart. Except that Miami had already picked up the other ball and was ready to throw the ball in. So there was no delay to the game, except for the issuance of the yellow card which literally stopped the flow of the game. By the book? Maybe. But soft at the very least.
But in the 88th minute Delgado attempted to slide for a ball, won it, and then popped up. Except that Busquetes went down off the back of Delgado. The replay clearly showed no contact. But the simulation from Busquetes was all that the referee needed. He yellow carded Delgado and then forgot that he had already been on a yellow card and eventually levied the red.
One, is that in that moment, that isn’t even a foul, let alone a yellow, and far outside the “standard” of a second yellow card. The fact the referee forgot who was booked means he wasn’t managing the game. And like most of the match, he was late in calling fouls, disrupted the flow, and generally seemed confused about how he was supposed to make it through 90 mins in the League’s highest-profile game of the weekend.
Delgado was robbed of a supreme performance and the Galaxy were robbed of two points. It’s not inconsequential when an incorrect call quickly leads to the other team scoring. And while the Galaxy should lament the missed PK, they were also winning with two minutes left in the game when 7 minutes of stoppage time popped up.
Tough break with replacement referees trying to manage the biggest games. But it shouldn’t be unexpected to see these kinds of mistakes being made by officials who have never seen this level before.