Los Angeles Football Club came within 10 minutes of winning Group F of the MLS is Back Tournament on Thursday night and drawing FC Cincinnati in the knockout stage.
Jeremy Ebobisse’s header in the 81st minute pulled the Portland Timbers even in a match the LAFC had to win in order take the group, which was won by the Timbers. LAFC, as the Group F runner-up, is now set for a rematch of the 2019 Western Conference finals against the Seattle Sounders on Monday.
“Each game’s different. I think that we have tried to take control in the other games, but our ability in certain moments just where we have got people in position but to be able to defend a moment a little bit better,” said LAFC head coach Bob Bradley after the group-stage finale. “When you think about goals we have given up, failure to clear balls in own goal, those are the main things that we’ve looked at.”
LAFC’s attack created 19 chances against the Timbers, but managed only three shots on target, the same amount as Portland produced in just seven chances. LAFC couldn’t have asked more of its offense during the tournament group stage. The team arrived in Orlando amid questions of how it would perform without star Carlos Vela, and responded with 11 goals in its first three matches, four more than any other team.
LAFC’s performance on the other side of the field was a different story, but not altogether negative. LAFC allowed seven goals in the three matches, tying Vancouver and Colorado for second-most in the tournament group stage behind the Galaxy (9).
The high goal tally is concerning, but the fact is LAFC allowed its group stage opponents a total of only 19 shots in three games. LAFC’s issue in the tournament thus far isn’t that its backline is allowing opposing attackers too many chances, but rather its execution during the key moments of those rare chances.
“There’s always the part of how you start the concentration. Early in the game, you don’t just get a chance to start to connect passes,” Bradley said. “You have to fight through early parts of the game until you can get a little bit more control, and in those periods of the game, we have made mistakes and we have paid.”
LAFC, despite its issues, did not taste defeat in the group stage. Its offense, championed by Diego Rossi and Bradley Wright-Phillips, offset the club’s shaky defensive performances in the first half, which often led to early deficits.
Through its first two matches of the tournament against San Jose and Chicago, Seattle looked like a team destined for group-stage elimination. In the finale, the Sounders played like defending MLS Cup champions in a 3-0 romp of Vancouver that earned Seattle the second spot in Group B.
LAFC’s defensive lapses could see the team eliminated in the round of 16 if Seattle plays as it did against Vancouver. Conversely, if LAFC can sharpen its defensive efforts against the Sounders, its offense will be difficult for any opposing club to keep pace with.
“I think getting back to the football we were playing before the quarantine break and stuff, it’s been a challenge,” LAFC midfielder Mark Anthony-Kaye said. “I think starting on the wrong foot of games, they don’t help us, but as everyone can see, we are a very good team when we have the ball, and you know, our football ideas are good.”
“I think every game has been a little different. We need to figure out how to stop the goals going in, because I think that allows us to play our football a little bit better and a little more calm.”
MLS KNOCKOUT STAGE
What: LAFC vs. Seattle Sounders
When: 8 p.m. PT Monday
Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Kissimee, Florida
TV: FS1
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July 25, 2020 at 03:05AM
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LAFC must tighten details in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage - OCRegister
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