Faced with a 2-0 deficit in its Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 tie with León, LAFC knows it's going to take something special.
But returning home to the energy and atmosphere of the 3252 and Banc of California Stadium has Bob Bradley's team feeling confident ahead of Thursday night's match. No matter what the final score ends up being, the Black & Gold know they'll play without fear and the intensity necessary to go through.
Here are the Toyota Keys to the Match for the home leg of LAFC's clash with León:
Turn It Up A Notch
In the first leg, LAFC was at a severe disadvantage. The Black & Gold hadn't played single minute of competitive football and faced León at altitude in Estadio León.
After getting 90 minutes of match fitness under them and having nine days of training between matches, LAFC players are feeling much stronger coming into this match. And they're going to need that elevated fitness to take the game to their opponents.
In Mexico, we saw flashes. LAFC created openings but were a step behind the pace set by León. In the home leg, the Black & Gold need to be on the front foot. The speed of play and speed of thought needs to be turned up a notch. Put León under pressure from the opening whistle and force them to scramble and recover a bit.
Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots
LAFC took just one shot on goal in the first leg. That's not going to cut it with a two-goal deficit.
The Black & Gold know they need goals and they need to generate shooting opportunities. The only way to gain passage to the next round is by getting at León's defense and putting shots on target.
Cut The Mistakes
The biggest lesson from the competition so far is how mistakes can punish you. In MLS play, you can sometimes get away with a mistake or two but you can't give this León side any freebies.
Clean up the mistakes. And on the flipside, play in a way that forces León into some mistakes of their own. In the first leg, Brian Rodríguez nearly capitalized on a mistake just moments after León took the lead. LAFC has to get on the scoresheet in those moments. The team that commits the least mistakes and gets a bit of luck in exploiting its opponent will finish the night victorious.
