LA Galaxy Player Ratings vs. San Jose Earthquakes

That was not a Cali Clásico for the ages. The LA Galaxy started the game playing too deep, and ceded too much possession to the San Jose Earthquakes, who took it with aplomb. At one point Dejan Joveljić was on an island all by himself in the final 18 with nary another white uniform on my screen. Raveloson sat too deep, and Lletget was forced deep to retrieve the ball.

However, the biggest driver of the first half blues was Kévin Cabral, guilty of many turnovers via bad passes but mostly craptacular touches.

This changed to end the first half, at about the 35th minute the Galaxy started pressing higher to good results (aka, shots!) and a 10 minute span of pressure.

However, LA opened the second half much like the first and conceded a goal. The subsequent substitutions to chase the game were a game changer in terms of shots on target. Vázquez and Grandsir were more direct — forcing passes forward and in general confusing San Jose with their movement.

However, a defensive error gifted San Jose another goal, and ultimately the game, even in light of some major goalkeeping heroics from Jonathan Bond. This shows in the expected goals stat: San Jose 2.6, Galaxy 1.

With losses to the likes of the Colorado Rapids, Sporting Kansas City and now the Earthquakes, the Galaxy have yet to establish a firm position against the top of the West. While the Galaxy are likely to have a say in the playoffs, they are far from the upper echelons if they can’t beat the good teams. This was a bad week to drop six points at home.

On a side note, Eric Remedi should be sitting additional games for a horror show tackle on Rayan Raveloson. Do your job, MLS DisCo.

Player Ratings

Excellent

• Jonathan Bond - save on a shot in the 4th minute. Impressive DOUBLE save in the 46th minute. Followed that up with a save while LYING DOWN to start the second half. Important interception in the 57th minute. Man of the Match

Good

• Victor Vázquez - sent in a lovely creative pass as his first action. His second was to score off a corner — it was a goalkeeper howler, but a goal is a goal. Lovely give and go with Lletget in the 79th minute. Creative breath of fresh air (after a terrible game against the Rapids that we shall wipe from our minds).
• Samuel Grandsir - nearly forced an own goal in the 65th minute. Sent in a lovely cross in the 67th minute that caused an emergency clearance.

Okay

• Nick DePuy - not the major culprit in this one.
• Rayan Raveloson - he can’t win them all.
• Sebastian Lletget - fantastic ball across the box in the 41st minute that BEGGED for a finish. No one home. Disappeared in the second half.
• Efraín Álvarez - individual brilliance in the 37th minute to blow past the San Jose defense off a one-two and get a shot on target. Not sure what he was doing watching San Jose get players set for their first goal (answer: jogging behind the play).
• Sacha Kljestan - provided a few key passes and was active at the end of the first half.
• Dejan Joveljić - fed Cabral off a highway 1 long ball, but the resulting shot was blocked. Shot blocked in the 80th minute.
• Jonathan dos Santos - earned a dubious yellow card.
• Derrick Williams - late sub.

Poor

• Niko Hämäläinen - beat by Abecasis in the 22nd minute minute with a curler, luckily hit the crossbar. Lucky San Jose missed off a corner in the 33rd minute as he was ball watching. Scored the own goal, hard to blame him for the deflection, but it is what it is.
• Julian Araujo - got blown by in the 4th minute for a shot on goal. Salinas once again left him in the dust in the 9th minute. Good block in the 32nd minute. Salinas got through again to end the second half. First poor game in some time, but when you’re beat by 35-year-old Shea Salinas? Woof.
• Séga Coulibaly - important clearance in the 9th minute. Got beat on San Jose’s second goal, and nearly by Cowell in the 87th. Important interception with Bond at the end of the game. Not his best game in a Galaxy jersey, but the good overall outweighs the bad.
• Kévin Cabral - turnover machine to start the game, then continued his horrible start with a dumb temper tantrum of a yellow card. Shot blocked in the 41st minute. Sent in on goal to start the second half, but sent in a weak shot. Zero defense on San Jose’s first goal, he just stood there watching the cross come in. He drives me nuts. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word “clinical.”

What do you think? Leave a comment below.