LAFC have now lost two games in succession, the latter of which was a five-goal thumping at the hands of Atlanta United. But no, this is not an unravelling, this is just football.
It was all going so well for Los Angeles FC. The latest expansion side of Major League Soccer entered the league with few expectations, especially considering their early slate of games — an away trip to the Seattle Sounders to open the campaign, followed another road game at Real Salt Lake, the LA derby, which was also away from home, and then another away game against Atlanta United. And yet, LAFC began with an almighty bang.
Not only did they topple the Sounders with an embattled 1-0 win thanks to the delicious curls of one Diego Rossi, but they then proceeded to dismantle RSL with a blistering attacking performance of slicing creativity, truly terrifying pace, and clinical finishing. All things were rosy for the league’s newest addition. Bob Bradley was working his magic with yet another expansion team. Then came trouble, in the shape of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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When Daniel Steres turned a ball into his own net to put LAFC three goals to the good, it looked as though El Trafico pride would be with the newcomers. Three wins from three. Nine points from nine. Top of the Western Conference. What more could you want? Or at least that was the hope. Zlatan, as he so often does, had other ideas. As we all know, an extraordinary volley and last-gasp header hauled the Galaxy out from the depths of despair and into late-game glory.
And then the pain was compounded by an equally ruthless Atlanta United just a week later. The most exciting team of last season, and fellow newcomers, were at their pacy, precise best, with their combination play on the counter-attack carving open the LAFC defence time and time again. But this was not the pummeling that the 5-0 scoreline indicates. In fact, you could argue that LAFC deserved to win.
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59% possession; 17 shots; 85% passing accuracy. This was not the performance that the result perhaps implied that it was. Additionally, had it not been for the intervention of VAR, Chris McCann would not have been so delightfully skipping out of the tunnel after he initially believed that his night was over after just a brief 36 seconds. That decision unquestionably changed the game completely.
Although LAFC will still rue the way in which they chased the game late on — they were reckless in their desperation, leaving themselves sparse and unprotected in defensive areas, only accentuating the breaking-prowess of Atlanta –, there are still a number of positives that can be drawn from this performance. This was not a pummelling; this is not an unravelling of a side enjoying the audacious vivacity and adrenaline of being new. This is just football.
Like in all sport, sometimes it just doesn’t go your way. You don’t have to look far to find numerous examples of that. Sometimes, the best team doesn’t win. That’s life, and LAFC are experiencing it right now.
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So don’t panic. Don’t scream. Assess the process, not the results, and the process, right now, is in good shape.