Never have I channeled my inner Bob Bradley more.
Being not fully satisfied with a 5-1 win away from home is a luxury. That much, I am well aware of. I'm not here to be contrarian just for fun. But five goals and three points can't gloss over everything. And for that perspective, I have to thank the LAFC head coach in the way he's never satisfied after matches like these.
- SKC 1-5 LAFC
The passing was sloppy for almost the full 90 minutes. The space between the midfield and the backline at times wasn't as compact as it should have been, providing Sporting KC opportunities to play between the lines too easily in stretches.
And yet, when LAFC needed to make a play, they did. And then did again and again.
Because for as much as this team drove me nuts through the course of the match, they had no shortage of jaw-dropping moments against SKC. Which just shows you LAFC's quality and mentality this season. Hang five goals on a team when you're not playing your best and you've really got something special. I can only put that down to how much this team believes in its football. Which is probably the biggest change for LAFC from 2018 to 2019.
So, great win. But a lot of work to do before Saturday. Here are the takeaways from LAFC's 5-1 win over SKC:
Growing Into The Match
This was not the pace we're used to seeing in a midweek match.
For the first 20 minutes or so, it was all transition moments for both teams. One team would rush forward, the ball would turn over, and then it was a rush back the other way. Early on, it seemed that pace might suit the home team more and little by little they started stringing possession together to put LAFC under pressure.
Interestingly, SKC pushed LAFC back by wanting no part of the middle of the pitch in their buildup. Ilie Sánchez served as more of a decoy to allow SKC to get their fullbacks down the touchline. Once they snuck behind LAFC's midfield, they tried to find quick passes into midfielders camped out in the half spaces, who had a free run at the LAFC defense.
It worked early as LAFC's fullbacks were pinned deep by the SKC wingers. But slowly, Jordan Harvey, Eddie Segura, Tristan Blackmon, and Steven Beitashour found ways to break up SKC's possession. Their aggressiveness set the tone as LAFC's usual midfield trio of Mark-Anthony Kaye, Eduard Atuesta, and Latif Blessing took a bit of time to find their rhythm and influence the match.
Rossi Lights The Fuse
Christian(o) Ramirez settled a lot of nerves with is brilliant free kick under the SKC wall in the 28th minute. But it was Diego Rossi that grabbed this match by the scruff of the neck.
Rossi was lively from the opening whistle. He was a willing runner into the space behind the SKC defense and the outlet LAFC needed when they after soaking up the opposition's pressure for long stretches.
