WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: LA GALAXY
Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent.
Opponent: LA Galaxy
Kick Off time: 9:30 PM Central Time
Location: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California
History vs. Austin FC:
Austin FC beat LA Galaxy 2-0 earlier this season thanks to goals from Diego Rubio and Jádier Obrian. Austin FC has never defeated the Galaxy on the road, their closest loss being a 2-0 defeat last season.
Recent Matches:
The LA Galaxy are first in the Western Conference and can clinch the number one seed with a point in their last two games. They’re on a two-match winning streak after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 on September 21 and the Colorado Rapids 3-1 on October 2. They’ve won four of their six matches since the Leagues Cup break.
Players to Watch:
Riqui Puig
The former Barcelona academy player is a strong MVP candidate this season and while Galaxy have an abundance of attackers, Puig is the most important player. He is the center of their midfield and attack, able to be a one-man counterattack or pull the strings as he dances his way through midfield.
Marco Reus
The German midfielder came to the Galaxy this summer as a free agent after spending the past 12 seasons with Borussia Dortmund where he was consistently one of the best players in Europe. He’s only played in 5 matches for Galaxy this season and has 3 goal contributions in 270 minutes.
Diego Fagundez
He’s been a bench player for the Galaxy this season, but fans of the Verde and Black still fondly remember the former Austin FC attacker. He’s only scored 4 goals in nearly 1700 minutes, but with LA likely to rotate the squad, it’s more likely he will feature tonight.
Keys to the Match:
When It’s over….
Despite what some fans say, this season is over for Austin on Decision Day. Trailing Portland by 6 points, two wins (first tiebreaker), 18 Goal difference (next tiebreaker), and 29 goals scored (third tiebreaker) means Austin would need a miracle, or match-fixing to advance into the playoffs. Now is the time to try and find something to build on or unlock for next season, allowing the players who we know will be here some time to gel and hopefully build to a better 2025.
A Tale of Two Attacks
It was the best of attacks (LA Galaxy) and the worst of attacks (Austin FC). At least, in the Western Conference. The Galaxy lead in Goals Scored, Shots on Target, and xG whereas Austin is worst in the conference in all three categories. The Galaxy have four players with 10 plus goals (Gabriel Pec, Dejan Joveljić, Riqui Puig, and Joseph Paintsil) to Austin, whose leading scorer, Jádier Obrian with seven goals, was brought in via the re-entry draft.
Gameplan
As was mentioned above, Austin FC defeated the Galaxy at home 2-0 thanks to two counterattacking goals. Those two movements combined to include five passes, the kind of goals Elliot Reep advocated for in the 1950s: Win the ball, Get the ball forward, and Score goals quickly before a defense can get set up. It’s something we don’t see Austin do a lot of for three reasons: 1) a lack of attacking speed up top, which the addition of Osman Bukari has mitigated, 2) a lack of passers in the minefield or defense who have the accuracy and acumen to be able to get service forward, and 3) Josh Wolff’s possession focused tactics where controlling the game is done via controlling the ball.
On the road we’ve seen Austin time and again bunker deep, ceding possession and space, while that’s led to six shutouts this season, it’s also led to some incredibly ugly soccer where Austin barely threatens the opposing keeper and relies far too much on our own to get a result.
WRITTEN BY: SCOTT SPECHT
