LA Galaxy Player Ratings vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

The LA Galaxy had a golden opportunity to climb the rankings and utterly squandered it against a bottom feeder team. These are the teams that the Galaxy should beat if they have any playoff aspirations. Instead they faffed around for nearly the entire game, passing the ball around with no end product. While possession was good, attacking end creativity was not.

Total shots on goal? Two. And that’s generous.

Passing accuracy was 90%, the Galaxy made 700 passes, and had 68% possession! However they lost on duels and tackles, and their total team XG was 0.7. That’s about as sad trombone as you can get.

Picking a man of the match was a hard job in this one. Cabral and Brugman were culpable for a goal, then Gasper (a frequent occurrence), then the two centerbacks. To be fair to the CBs, the Galaxy were chasing the game at that point.

After the 3-5-2 formation worked, Vanney abandoned it. After playing two forwards worked, Vanney abandoned it. He inexplicably hasn’t abandoned playing Cabral. And how Chase Gasper is starting soccer games is anyone’s guess.

Right about now, Vanney might be abandoning the playoffs.

Player Ratings

Good

• Riqui Puig - just missed the target on a rebound shot in the 6th minute. Should have one timed a shot in the 63rd minute. Just missed a curler. Man of the Match

Okay

• Víctor Vázquez - lovely cross into Chicharito in the 20th minute. Nearly let Blackmon score in the 50th minute but never should have been defending him in the first place. Earned a yellow card for a yank.
• Julian Araujo - nice ball into Chicharito in the 60th minute.
• Jonathan Bond - fingertip save in the 56th minute off a free kick.
• Mark Delgado - dangerous squared ball in the 31st minute.
• Dejan Joveljić/Samuel Grandsir - ineffective and the game was soon over.
• Efraín Álvarez/Douglas Costa/Sacha Kljestan - late subs

Poor

• Chicharito - should have done better with a Vázquez cross in the 20th minute. Nice cross into Puig in the 63rd minute. Should have done better in the 75th minute when the ball fell to his feet right at the center of the box. The missed penalties have snakebite him.
• Chase Gasper - stripped of the ball in the 68th, and then gave up the goal on the counter.
• Kévin Cabral - marking no one on Vancouver’s goal. He was literally off the pitch!
• Martín Cáceres - caught out along with Williams on Vancouver’s third goal.
• Derrick Williams - good clearance of a cross in the 12th minute. Good defense bodying off the forward in the 26th minute. Caught out along with Cáceres on Vancouver’s third goal.
• Gastón Brugman - lovey vision and through ball in the 8th minute. Bodied off the ball on Vancouver’s goal.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.