Real Salt Lake v LA Galaxy (2-3)

For the first time in club history, Salt Lake lost a home match when they had a two goal lead.

Los Angeles Setup

With Edson Buddle out injured and Robbie Keane returning from the European Championship, Bruce Arena elected to start Landon Donovan as a lone striker. The Galaxy played a 4-5-1 and looked to attack on the counter. The move would typically start with David Beckham or Juninho hitting a long ball to Donovan or Mike Magee, who played on the left wing.

The visitors from California had an unusual shape to their 4-5-1. Juninho played as the lone holding midfielder and Beckham played slightly in front of him and to the right. Sarvas played in the middle and struggled to get on the ball or close enough to Donovan to provide attacking support. On the wings, Bryan Jordan played more defensively on the right and Mike Magee was used as the secondary threat towards goal down the left side. Interestingly, the fullbacks Sean Franklin and Todd Dunivant only combined for one cross. Usually, the fullbacks are relied upon to get forward when a team operates with one striker and two deep lying midfielders.

Salt Lake Setup

Jason Kreis is known for setting his side out in a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. Kyle Beckerman protected the back four. Will Johnson played on the left and Ned Grabavoy and Johnny Steele interchanged between a narrow right position and a central attacking position. Without a right sided player giving the side width, Fabian Espindola drifted out to the right flank which provided a one v one matchup with Todd Dunivant that produced the opening two goals.

Real Start Fast

The matched started with the Galaxy willing to sit back and concede possession and Real looking to control the tempo and get the fullbacks forward. Nine minutes in, Chris Wingert switched the ball from the left to the right side to Espindola. Espindola was given space by Dunivant to reach the endline and play a low ball across the six yard box to Kyle Beckerman who made a clever near post run and slotted home the opening goal.

Opting to play in a defensive and counter attacking style, going behind in the first ten minutes was not the end of the match for Los Angeles. Salt Lake continued to pour forward and push for a second which opened up space to counter.

The Galaxy responded when Donovan got in behind the defense but Nick Rimando collected quickly off his line. Then the Galaxy threatened from the set piece on two occasions but failed to test the keeper. Although the Galaxy retorted well, they would find themselves two goals behind in the 29^th minute. Johnny Steele laid the ball off to Espindola who had room to cross from the right side. His ball was directed toward Alvaro Saborio whose (intentional/fortuitous) touch directed the ball into the far corner.

How Each Side Attacked

Salt Lake were at their best when they pressed the Galaxy back four and forced long kicks up field. Applying pressure for 90 minutes is too taxing, so the home side pressured in spurts. Also, the understanding between the Saborio and Espindola troubled the Galaxy defense. Espindola’s runs out wide started to draw the attention of one of the center backs which allowed Saborio a one on one matchup the produced chances but not goals.

The Galaxy were dangerous when Donovan had the ball running at the back four with an option to pass or shoot. He was able to setup Magee and Sarvas at the end of the half but the finishing was poor. Hopefully when Keane returns, Arena will use this formation and play Donovan in Sarvas’ central role where he would have the ball at his feet more and be the creator for Los Angeles.

A Two Goal Lead is the Most Dangerous in Soccer

Trailing by two goals, the Galaxy looked bereft of comeback ideas. However, the home side gifted a lifeline to Los Angeles five minutes after taking a two goal lead. Tony Beltran played a lackadaisical back pass towards Rimando which was picked off by Landon Donovan who rounded Rimando and put his team on the board.

Just after halftime, Olave was carelessly caught in possession by Mike Magee who had space on the left side and finished with his left foot into the far post. The Galaxy were now level after two Salt Lake gaffes. With Real pushing to try and retake the lead, the Galaxy almost scored on the counter. Beckham hit a beautiful ball to the left to Donovan whose first time volley went wide.

Jason Kreis made two changes around the hour mark to try and win the match. Javier Morales came on for Johnny Steele in a like for like swap and Luis Gil replaced Jamison Olave. Will Johnson moved to left back and Chris Wingert to central defense. Bringing on two attacking and creative midfielders made sense but Salt Lake struggled to craft any chances in the last half hour. Since Gil played in the Morales role last season, the two players occupied similar areas on the pitch which made the side easier to defend.

Bruce Arena made a key change bringing off Sarvas for Michael Stephens and moving Mike Magee into the middle. This switch setup the winning goal five minutes later. The Galaxy setup the counter attack after with Magee making a run to the left touchline opening up space down the middle for Donovan to run past Nat Borchers, who was caught to high upfield. Donovan received the pass from Magee and Rimando was unable to tackle the ball away allowing Donovan to score his brace with a simple pass into the net. After the goal, Real struggled to create for an equalizer and LA hung on to steal the three points.

Conclusions

Suddenly, the Galaxy are showing life after taking six points from the last two matches. Although the result was great, LA were the poorer side during the 90 minutes and were economical in taking advantage of two horrible Salt Lake defensive errors. Real will be furious at throwing away a two goal lead at home in front of a sold out crowd but Jason Kreis will use the poor result as motivation in future matches.

Thoughts on last night’s MLS action or on the Euro’s?

- Contact us on Twitter @kpngacleansheet

- Or Like our Facebook Page.