Scoring in every team sport depends in part upon deceiving and overpowering opponents. Great soccer players like Lionel Messi unbalance opponents by changing speed and direction to make space, open passing lanes and pull defenders out of position. Powerful players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic position themselves to dominate with sheer athletic prowess.
No one player on the 2024 Galaxy possesses all three of these qualities. Gabriel Pec can change direction at pace. Joseph Paintsil can change speed. Riqui Puig changes direction and pulls defenders out of position, but always at breakneck speed.
The Galaxy triumphed with a 3-0 shutout over San Jose, but for thirty-five minutes they merely played bottom of the table San Jose to a stalemate, dominating possession and defending cohesively, but not much else. Playing at home in Stanford Stadium the Quakes managed to create several good chances but lacked the quality to beat goalkeeper John McCarthy who made six crucial saves on the night.
In the thirty-seventh minute, after an excellent stop by McCarthy on a corner kick, Edwin Cerrillo cleared the ball to the top of the box. Paintsil proceeded to combine with Pec and overpower the Quakes with sheer speed. Paintsil started the play with a quick pass that sent Pec streaking on the counter attack.
Now for the overpowering part. No one but Paintsil in the MLS could make up thirty yards on Gabriel Pec running at top speed. By the time Pec approached the Quakes penalty box, the sprinting Ghanaian had cruised past the desperately retreating defense to run onto a perfect outside of the foot pass. He let the ball slide wide of flailing keeper William Yarbrough to one time it into the right side of the net, 1-0 Galaxy.
The Galaxy possession game began to wear San Jose down. At times defenders stood frozen in place as the Galaxy pinged one and two touch passes around the park. Left footed Pec playing on the right always cut the ball toward the middle into the teeth of the defense, as did right footed Paintsil on the left. Sustained periods of possession created several opportunities penetrate behind the defense, but LA failed reach the end line until the second half.
Then came Puig, like an injection of adrenaline in the fifty-fifth minute. The solid Galaxy structure and possession remained in place, but the speed, change of direction, and unpredictability for the opponent shot through the roof. Before the current three game shutout streak, the Galaxy passing structure and defensive shape would fragment when Puig performed his magic tricks, not this day at Stanford stadium.
At one point when Puig passed the ball over the end line he yelled at Yamane for not making the run. To do so would expose the lack of defensive cover on the right side. Yamane chose to preserve the defensive shape rather than make the run. Diego Fagundez facilitated Puig’s escapades by balancing out the gaps he left in the structure.
In the seventy-second minute Puig lost the ball near the left sideline, but perfectly positioned Edwin Cerrillo recovered it. He passed back to Piug who streaked toward the middle, rode a tackle and pinged the upper right corner of the woodwork from the top of the box. Fagundez shifted his position slightly toward the middle ready to transition back to defense if the play broke down. Jovelic headed the rebound into the open net to extend the Galaxy lead to 2-0. For perhaps the first time in 2024 Puig performed his magic without disrupting the Galaxy system.
Perhaps more importantly, on the third goal Puig played simple possession. With Miguel Berry on for Jovelic at forward and Mauricio Cuevas for Fagundez, Yamane pushed the ball toward the end line on the right and whipped a low cross toward the goal mouth. Berry dummied the ball to Cuevas who beat his defender for a tap in, a beautiful team goal, and a triumph for team structure.
This time Puig played a simple pass to Delgado who found Yamane on the right. Supported by cover behind him Yamane attacked the end line. A gap opened up in the penalty box. Cuevas attacked the space. Without defensive cover in the middle to stop him, Cuevas easily scored. When the Galaxy maintain their structure, Puig becomes an offensive force with or without the ball. He gave up possession only once on the sideline and the Galaxy quickly recovered it.
As odd as it sounds, Puig may get fewer touches as the Galaxy prioritize team shape. The experience on the Galaxy back line enables them to organize team defense, but with the exception of Jalen Neal, they cannot defend top attackers one on one. As set piece defending improves, the passing game allows the team to rest, and Puig changes the pace of possession and waits for his moments, the Galaxy could become completely unplayable.
El Traffico against the surging LAFC will test the emerging Galaxy identity. With a four game winning streak and three consecutive shutouts on the line, fans can expect more than Fourth of July fireworks at the Rose Bowl on Thursday.