Major League Soccer pundits Andrew Wiebe and Bradley Wright-Phillips predicted a dominating LA Galaxy win over Chivas Guadalajara in the final game of Leagues Cup West Group 2. The Mexican side did not cooperate, suffocating the Galaxy possession game, bullying Riqui Puig into careless giveaways, and stifling the vaunted Galaxy attack from whistle to the final whistle. Several stunning saves by backup keeper Novak Micovic, two sublime moments of brilliance from Puig and Gabriel Pec, and a 5-4 penalty shootout victory prevented the Los Angeles side from falling to second place in the group.
Chivas earned home-field advantage through the round of sixteen by placing fifth in the Apertura and sixth in the Clausura in the Liga MX two-season format. Finishing twenty-sixth in the 2023 Supporters Shield race condemned the Galaxy to play “on the road” throughout the tournament. The vagaries of the Leagues Cup ranking system rendered them the “away” team in their home stadium against Chivas. By winning the group LA earned the privilege of traveling to Sponge Bob Stadium, A.K.A. Lumen Field, in Seattle to meet the Sounders in their first knockout round game on Thursday.
Needing a victory to advance, Chivas exploded from the start with intense pressure on the ball. Hunting in packs they forced the Galaxy ball carrier to face back toward Micovic with support closing in. They took away options until they won the duels and extracted the ball.
Puig faced a new strategy. The first of three or four defenders arrived just as the ball reached him forcing him backward. When Puig turned they backed off a little, cutting off the passing lanes, inviting him to dribble. When Puig obliged one defender harassed the Spaniard as the other took the ball, Puig, or both. Constant grabbing bumping, even shots to the neck and torso, kicks to every part of the legs. They did whatever the ref allowed them to do.
Try as they might, the Galaxy struggled to create any kind of rhythm. The pro-Chivas crowd urged their red and white-striped gladiators into a frenzy. As the half wore on they pinned LA into their penalty box. Three to five Goats flooded into the box to make havoc out of the curling crosses peppering Micovic. They pounced on any kind of opportunity forcing multiple clearances and emergency defending.
In the eighth minute, the Galaxy failed to clear a cross. Chivas recovered the ball and fed it to the top of the box, then quickly ahead to right right back Alan Moso. His shot between the legs of Galaxy keeper Novak Micovic hit the back of the net, 1-0 Chivas, well deserved.
Goat supporters rocked the stadium, the whistle to restart play barely audible. Whether the goal galvanized the Galaxy or Chivas suffered a moment of celebration hangover, the Galaxy won the ball in their half. Midfielder Gaston Brugman combined with left back John Nelson who found Puig thirty yards out from goal.
Winger Mauricio Cuevas initiated a diagonal run from his wide right position toward the goal. Puig did what Puig does. He painted a master stroke that split the Goat defenders. Cuevas arrived at the six-yard box, touching it across for Joseph Paintsil to tap in. The Galaxy supporters roared to life, 1-1, game on.
Everything about that play dripped Vanney-ball. The quick passing relieved pressure in the back. Puig found a pocket of space behind the pressing midfielders and waited patiently for a run rather than dashing forward. Cuevas started a bit deep so Puig could time the pass, possession with intent, Puig in the attacking third, run behind the defense, cross, tap-in, “Let’s do it again!” Except they didn’t.
With the game level, Chivas shed the least semblance of the beautiful game, every blade of grass another territory to conquer, every pass an opportunity to attack, every move a battle. The ref called very little because the Galaxy didn’t fight back, not committing their first foul until the forty-third minute.
In the seventeenth minute, Puig managed to reach the top of the box with the ball. He skewed the shot well wide when the Chivas defender knocked him off balance at the critical moment. The Goats resumed their siege of the Galaxy penalty area firmly in control of the breakneck pace of the game.
With three players in the box and two out wide Chivas midfielder rainbowed Galaxy defender Eric Zavaleta to Ricardo Martin who forced a smart safe from Micovic. A quick throw-in to Roberto Alvarado caught LA napping. Micovic parried it away, the second top-class save in two minutes. Chivas flooded the box with as many as five players, whipping crosses from the end line, attempting passes into the crowded area, and pouncing on anything loose.
Whenever the Galaxy managed to gain possession, they dribbled into a cul-de-sac, passed to a Chivas defender, or rushed their attack. After each recovery, Chivas strolled back to the top of the LA penalty area with little resistance. The five-man defensive back line became a liability as the G’s conceded the midfield to the Goats.
Puig’s level of frustration boiled over as he dropped deeper and deeper in an attempt to get the Galaxy out of their self-imposed prison. The ploy played perfectly into the Chivas plan. With no threat behind them, they added more numbers to the attack, able to overload two different areas of the Galaxy defense at the same time. Eventually LA forward Paintsil dropped deep leaving no threat up top against the defense opposing defense.
In the thirty-sixth minute, Micovic played a pass to Puig who finally beat the first defender. Flying forward with the ball at his feet. With nobody to mark the defenders pressed forward as two Goat defenders tracked back, pinning Puig between them. With only one option going forward the defense relieved the Galaxy midfielder of the ball and resumed their assault on Micovic.
Coach Greg Vanney tried to reorganize the team to create more balance front to back, but the message never reached the field. The players themselves did not recognize the situation, perhaps too focused on their own roles, or perhaps trying to fix every problem alone. Whatever the cause, the three centerback formation with Paintsil up top and Puig next to Pec ended up with nobody up top and nobody in the offensive third of the formation.
Corner kicks, free kicks, combinations in the box, crosses to the near post, back post, penalty spot, top of the box, like a hive of bees the Goats swarmed the penalty area. No matter what they tried they could not score. Thankfully for the Galaxy, the half ended tied at 1-1.
Vanney withdrew Zaveleta at halftime, inserting Diego Fagundez and the more familiar 4-2-3-1 shape. Chivas encountered more difficulty as the second forty-five minutes unfolded. The game shifted to a midfield battle. With a bit more balance the Galaxy found their way out of the back only to rush their attack and give the ball back. The Goats managed to buzz the penalty for briefer sequences, still winning corners and free kicks, still flooding the penalty, but the Galaxy defense managed each situation a bit better, while Micovic somehow kept the ball out of the net.
With the insertion of Yamane for Nelson and Delgado for Cerrillo the balance of the game shifted slightly toward the Angelinos. Puig and Yamane combined with Delgado up the left flank who switched the ball to Pec at the top of the box. With Puig attacking inordinate attention, Pec found himself against one defender.
With the goalie screened and virtually no back lift the Brazilian drilled a curling bullet into the bottom left corner of the net. The patented strike started on an upward trajectory, causing the goalkeeper to reach rather than kick. As the ball sharply dipped, bouncing next to the keeper, his hand could not adjust in time. The ex-Vasco De Gama man should package that shot and sell it.
In the eighty-fifth minute, Vanney adjusted the personnel again when twenty-year-old Columbian Emir Garces turned his ankle, inserting homegrown product Isaiah Parente. Delgado moved to right back and the Galaxy set up to manage out the game.
Chivas poked and probed against the bunkered in defense. As the placard displayed six minutes of stoppage time, the ball swung wide to Mateo Chavez. Pec wandered over but failed to close the space. With time to lift his head the Chivas midfielder delivered a raking cross toward Cade Cowell at the near post. Micovic could do nothing to stop the precise header that looped into the upper left corner. 2-2.
The raucous noise in the stadium drowned out every other sound over the final few minutes until the final whistle. With the game headed for penalty kicks, Goats fans believed they would advance to the knockout rounds of the tourney. Micovic solidified his man-of-the-match performance by kick-saving Gilberto Sepúlveda’s penalty attempt, sending one of Mexico’s biggest clubs back to Guadalajara.
The astonishing stats tell the tale. Chivas outshot the Galaxy twenty to nine, seven to three on goal, eleven corner kicks, twenty-one crosses, and fifty-one percent of possession. No opponent in 2024 dominated the Galaxy like the Goats in this game. Quality in front of the goal at both ends decided the outcome.
Battled-tested veterans dominated the game from start to finish, but individual quality in the young Galaxy side saved the day. Unless this team can see beyond individual selves to adjust against quality players like the Goats, they will not lift a trophy any time soon. The arrival of Marco Reus may provide the final piece to the puzzle. No one can argue that the Galaxy lack the quality to win every game. Perhaps Rues can help them become a team, rather than a collection of ridiculously talented individuals who create moments of brilliance together on a playground.
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