Recap of May 27, 2015 Match: LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake
- Updated: May 31, 2015
(Photo via Twitter User @LAGalaxy)
On May 27, 2015, the LA Galaxy played a much better performance than they have in the past couple of weeks! In their second matchup against Real Salt Lake, they still struggled a bit offensively, but they showed improvement.
Starting Lineups and Substitutions
| LA Galaxy | Real Salt Lake | ||||
| 18 | GK | Jaime Penedo | 18 | GK | Nick Rimando |
| 6 | D | Baggio Husidic | 2 | D | Tony Beltran |
| 22 | D | Leonardo | 4 | D | Jamison Olave |
| 4 | D | Omar Gonzalez | 21 | D | Aaron Maund |
| 33 | D | Dan Gargan | 29 | D | Kenny Mansally |
| 15 | M | Ignacio Maganto | 5 | M | Kyle Beckerman |
| 19 | M | Juninho | 16 | M | Pecka |
| 3 | M | Mika Vayrynen | 19 | M | Luke Mulholland |
| 11 | M | Gyasi Zardes | 10 | M | Luis Gil |
| 5 | F | Jose Villarreal | 13 | M | Olmes Garcia |
| 9 | F | Alan Gordon | 15 | F | Alvaro Saborio |
| 12 | GK | Brian Rowe | 1 | GK | Lalo Fernandez |
| 21 | D | Tommy Meyer | 12 | D | Elias Vasquez |
| 17 | M | Sebastian Lletget | 11 | M | Javir Morales |
| 25 | M | Rafael Garcia | 8 | M | Joao Plata |
| 34 | M | Kenney Walker | 27 | M | John Stertzer |
| 7 | F | Robbie Keane | 23 | F | Sebastian Jaime |
| 16 | F | Edson Buddle | 49 | F | Devon Sandoval |
I figured going into the match that the Galaxy might have some issues against Real Salt Lake—only because of the history between the two teams and RSL’s prowess—but RSL has been having some issues as well. The New England Revolution and the Montreal Impact dealt them two major losses—4-1 and 4-0, respectively—and they’ve only won four out of thirteen matches. If the playoffs started today, RSL would be left out.
For the majority of this second game, RSL possessed the ball more than the Galaxy, but their shooting stats were almost the same. The Galaxy shot twelve total with three on target, seven off target, and two of them blocked, while RSL had ten total with only one on target, six off target, and three blocked. Luckily, it only takes one goal to win a game.
Juninho received a chance for redemption as he stepped to the penalty spot on May 27. Once again, the referee called a foul in the box on Jamison Olave, but this time for a handball. Juninho, who learned his lesson from May 6, stutter-stepped up to the ball and waited for Rimando to dive. The Brazilian shot the ball to the corner seconds after Rimando moved.
Throughout the rest of the match, the Galaxy nearly scored several other times. Yet, they failed to convert another goal.
While the team missed Stefan Ishizaki (he sat out because of stomach issues), fans once again saw Robbie Keane play a full half compared to the 34 minutes against Houston on May 22. Kenney Walker and Edson Buddle also returned to the field after they recovered from some injuries.
Ignacio Maganto (referred to as Nacho by fans) played probably the best game out of all the Galaxy players. He impressed Bruce Arena so much that Arena subbed out Jose Villarreal for Robbie Keane. Maganto showed his confidence in taking shots and dribbling through defenders. A young player, Nacho still has much to learn and experience to gain, but he’s proving his worth. I enjoy seeing him improve with every match and I look forward to seeing his future contributions to the LA Galaxy!
The next Galaxy game is on May 31st against the New England Revolution—a rematch of the 2014 MLS Cup. Will LA continue to dominate the Revolution? Will the Revs gain long-awaited revenge?
Quote Sheet: LA Galaxy top Real Salt Lake at home, 1-0
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