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The questions about how long the Galaxy could continue to tread water seem light years in the past. (I wish I'd asked sooner!) Before last night's defeat, they'd scored 5+ goals in each of the previous three games and have been playing like the 2014 MLS Cup Champions. No one's been hotter than Sebastian Lletget.
Lletget has been on a tear since his surprise start in Columbus. Let's take a moment to marvel at the stepover that started it all:
That step over. Vote for @SLletget for Goal of the Week: http://t.co/XYTSxe6FtM https://t.co/abOzlsoV1o
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 17, 2015
Sebastian's had goals in four straight games and was the best player on the field for much of Wednesday's game. He's enjoyed a dream start to his Galaxy career, one that we all hope doesn't stop anytime soon.
It's not just me who thinks Sebastian has been an unqualified success:
@MLS pic.twitter.com/7VbV4FubWy
— Adam Serrano (@LAGalaxyInsider) June 21, 2015
What if Sebastian Lletget is LA's best in-season addition?
— Matthew Doyle (@MLSAnalyst) June 24, 2015
@MLSAnalyst Lletget was the player that LAG actually needed. Stevie is a shirt-seller.
— Chad Kunde (@kunde21) June 25, 2015
The best part about this last series of tweets is that the Galaxy aren't in an either/or situation. Gerrard will sell shirts for sure, but he's no slacker and won't take away from team continuity. His leadership will take the team to yet another level. His passing abilities will open up more opportunities for Gyasi Bardes and increase the speed of our Top Gun attack. Having Lletget and Gerrard on the field at the same time for the rest of the season is going to be fun to watch.
So I want to stop and ask, can someone in MLS please blackmail the Galaxy again soon? Suddenly the $50,000 we paid to the 2014 MLS Cup Finals Loser New England Revolution seems worth every penny. If there are any other great players out there that teams would like to pass on in an effort to game the system we'd love to have them.
Because they've played two more games than most of the rest of the teams in the league, the Galaxy still have their work cut out for them in the second half of the season. This is evidenced by their recent "crappy" performance in the California Clasico. They haven't arrived at top form yet, but with Lletget seemingly entrenched in the starting lineup, things are looking way up.
With Steven Gerrard to make his debut in the next month, the Galaxy aren't just treading water anymore, I predict they'll close to practically walking on it.