LA Galaxy Player Ratings vs. Real Salt Lake

After a tough loss on Saturday to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the LA Galaxy continued to look lethargic to start the game against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday. They didn’t get out of their own defensive half, and gave up the ball repeatedly in the midfield. Kévin Cabral may as well have put a lawn chair down at midfield. The Galaxy were particularly vulnerable down the left with Villafaña being beat, Dunbar not playing much defense, and Raveloson being slow to make up ground.

The only player that had a decent first half was Grandsir, who represented the entirety of the LA offense. Vázquez created a wonder goal out of nothing with a lovely curler, and nearly repeated it in the second half.

The player that stole the show though was Raveloson. Scoring in his third straight game, he’s been a find on both ends of the field. This wasn’t his best game defensively, but he made up for it on offense.

The Galaxy require more out of Cabral, needing him to match the moniker of Young Designed Player. His glaring miss to start the second half was an indicator of how frustrating his time with the Galaxy has been so far.

That said, the Galaxy clawed their way back into this game, slowly building into more offense from the flanks. The switch of Grandsir and Dunbar paid some dividends with speed down the right, and more defense on the left.

However, the defense has not been good the last couple of games, something Vanney needs to address sooner rather than later. The return of Séga Coulibaly can’t come soon enough. One point over two road games doesn’t feel good enough to keep up with the elite of the Western Conference.

Player Ratings

Good

• Samuel Grandsir - decent shot that Ochoa played well in the 15th minute, probably should have squared into the box. Nearly converted a bad RSL pass in the 40th minute. Sent in a nice cross in the 44th minute that was barely diverted. Pulled out of a shot in front of a charging Ochoa in the second half. Felt like the Galaxy’s only offense for stretches of the game.
• Víctor Vázquez - nice ball that nearly found Grandsir in the 24th minute. Gorgeous goal in the 33rd minute making something out of nothing. Almost repeated the goal in the second half, but had his shot bounce off the post.
• Rayan Raveloson - little lazy getting back in the 7th minute, but ended up helping clear the ultimate shot in the box. Denied by Ochoa to start the second half. Earned a yellow card. Another fantastic header for goal #2 - that’s his third goal in the last four games. Man of the Match
• Julian Araujo - delivered a nice ball to Grandsir in the 15th minute, had a decent interception in the 24th minute. Lucky clearance in the 43rd minute. After a bunch of floated crosses over everyone, finally delivered on a dime for the Galaxy’s second goal to earn an assist. Critical clearance in the 93rd minute.

Okay

• Jonathan Bond - save in the 58th minute, judged the time to go to ground quite well. Parried a speedy shot in the 83rd minute. Crossbar bailed him out in the 94th minute after a punch.
• Sacha Kljestan - stole the ball leading up to Vázquez’s goal. Helped cycle the ball through midfield, overall solid for the amount of minutes he’s played over the last two games.
• Derrick Williams - megged on RSL’s second goal. Great cut-out in the 75th minute.
• Cameron Dunbar - want to see him use his speed more. Not involved.
• Daniel Steres - did his job to protect the tie in the back.
• Adam Saldaña/Ethan Zubak/Augustine Williams/Daniel Aguirre - late subs

Poor

• Jorge Villafaña - Static on the left in the 7th minute, a preview of the RSL goal that happened minutes later. Beat AGAIN on RSL’s second goal letting the player waltz through the box.
• Nick DePuy - burned on RSL’s first goal, then delivered a critical block seconds later on what would have been 2-0. Beat by a squared pass in the 37th minute, luckily no one was on the end of it. Great tackle to start the second half. Going to call it a draw.
• Kévin Cabral - His first contribution to the game was to miss a gaping open net in the second half. Didn’t do much else.

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