LA Galaxy Player Ratings vs. Colorado Rapids

Greg Vanney started Saturday’s LA Galaxy game against the Colorado Rapids with some tactical shifts, moving Grandsir, Costa, Vázquez, Aguirre and Coulibaly to the bench after two odorous performances. Raheem Edwards also got moved to midfield. The end result was the same — losing within minutes. Vanney once again picked a slow, pedantic midfield combining Raveloson and Kljestan. Raveloson needs to play forward and Sacha is no defensive midfielder. This helped put pressure on Chase Gasper who once again had a performance to forget.

The offense didn’t help by looking lethargic and bored in the second half after going down a goal. Even with the insertion of Vázquez, Joveljić was on an absolute island. At one point he gestured to Grandsir to go higher as he was the only other player in the attacking third!

Everyone knew that Gyasi Zardes was going to score against his old team, but the Galaxy assisted him in the process with an absolutely bad pass leading to Colorado’s second goal.

These defensive miscues are preventable. But not when the midfield is so poor. This team depends on Mark Delgado, and that’s on Vanney and the Galaxy front office. All due respect, but this team should not be depending on one non-DP player.

Three straight losses in bad fashion. The team is in trouble, the body language of the players is poor, and Vanney should be on the hot seat. But results aren’t going to change unless there’s change in the front office. This lineup isn’t going anywhere. Multiple players have been mistakes, and it’s looking to doom the team sooner rather than later. More and more the years of endless futility are indicating the front office has to change. This past week is on Chris Klein.

Player Ratings

Good

• Derrick Williams - great sliding interception to poke the ball out in the 4th minute. Goal line clearance on Zardes in the 7th minute after being caught upfield with Gasper. Forced the keeper into a great save off a corner. Man of the Match (despite the scoreline)

Okay

• Rayan Raveloson - earned a yellow card for a foul after a short pass in the 39th minute.
• Dejan Joveljić - tested the keeper off a corner in the 35th minute. Otherwise on an island.
• Nick DePuy - right footed poked clearance in the box in the 8th minute. Earned a yellow card for a light push.
• Julian Araujo - good block in the 57th minute. Earned a yellow card for breathing (bad decision, ref). Shot just wide in the 86th minute.
• Samuel Grandsir - could write the same thing every week: much industry, no end result.
• Daniel Aguirre - sent in a squared pass that begged to be finished in the 73rd minute.

Poor

• Kévin Cabral - sent in on goal in the 17th minute but well defended. Should have shot first time in the 32nd minute — he literally whiffed.
• Efraín Álvarez - sent in a corner that resulted in a shot on goal in the 19th minute. Lost the ball that resulted in Colorado’s goal.
• Chase Gasper - caught behind Zardes resulting in a shot on goal in the 7th minute. Lost Zardes for what looked like Colorado’s second goal but luckily was ruled offside. Lost Barrios at the end of the first half which resulted in some danger. In no man’s land in the 51st minute, lucky his man shot wide. Shouldered off a challenge in the 66th minute but his man shot wide. Set up the Rapids’ second goal with a miserable bad pass. Horrible performance.
• Sacha Kljestan - ball watching on Colorado’s first goal.
• Raheem Edwards - didn’t do much at left midfield.
• Jonathan Bond - bad positioning on Colorado’s first goal. More adventures in goalkeeping to end the first half as Acosta tested him from distance. Good onrushing clearance in the 59th minute. Could do nothing on Gyasi’s goal.
• Douglas Costa - more temper, more stupidity. Please stop attempting the same shot.
• Víctor Vázquez - invisible.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.