Eight matches, six goals
The LA Galaxy host the New England Revolution on Saturday in Carson, and the home side arrive with a scoring problem they have not solved since MLS play resumed.
LA have gone 1-4-3 in the eight matches since the World Cup break, scoring six times in that run. That leaves them on 6-9-8 and 26 points, three points below the playoff line in the Western Conference, with three clubs stacked in front of them.
San Diego FC beat them 3-1 last Saturday on the road. Hirving Lozano scored against his former club, his first goal since signing on Aug. 7, and played the full 90 minutes for the first time in Galaxy colours. He fired seven shots, four on target.
“We’re getting on the same page, adapting to one another; we have very little time as well,” Lozano said. “I think we’re taking it step by step.”
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Vanney wants it quicker
Greg Vanney is not pretending the timeline is comfortable.
“I still think he’s working on building a connection with all the guys,” the Galaxy coach said of Lozano. “It’s a team that’s coming together and needs to come together really fast.”
The squad kept moving this week. LA added midfielder Pablo Ruiz from Real Salt Lake, another body for a group that has been chasing shape rather than settling into one.
Carles Gil arrives in form
New England have the opposite issue. The Revs sit fourth in the East on 11-7-4 and 37 points, and have taken seven points from their last three matches.
They put three past Columbus on the road last Sunday to win 3-1. Matt Polster equalised in the 32nd minute, Dor Turgeman turned the game nine minutes later and Carles Gil added the third in the 79th. Gil leads the club with eight goals and eight assists.
Marko Mitrovic keeps redirecting the credit.
“People got used to him creating great numbers in terms of goals and assists,” the New England coach said. “But I have said many times, we aren’t here to create great numbers for Carles, he is here to help us get numbers as a team.”
The two clubs meet once this season. For LA, 26 points with the playoff race tightening leaves very little room to treat it as a normal Saturday.
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