In a dramatic fashion, the LA Galaxy (2-0-3) scored three unanswered goals against Sporting Kansas City to cap off a 3-2 victory and come back to LA with three points in the standings.
The victory marks the Galaxy’s second of the season and extends the unbeaten streak to five and marks the G’s first victory in Kansas City since 2019.
“We weren’t in the right spots at the right times we were when we did break lines we were very impatient trying to finish attacks so fast and then our front group was getting separated from our back group,” Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said of his teams performance in the first hour of play.
Vanney added that this impatience led to his team having to work more to get the ball out of the Galaxy’s half of the field and he noted at halftime the team needed to show more aggression in the build up.
LA struggled defensively through the first 60 minutes, with two goals conceded from corner kicks in the first half. The G’s seemingly found their rhythm after Gaston Brugman’s entrance into the game in the second half.
Then in the 72nd, the flood gates opened.
Eriq Zavaleta’s crucial goal injected life into a Galaxy attack that looked like it was playing possum, to make the score 2-1.
Three minutes later, Dejan Joveljic stayed atop the MLS Golden Boot Standings with his fifth goal in as many matches this season, but it took a few tries.
Shortly after netting two goals that were called offside, Joveljic received the ball from Riqui Puig and evened the score at 2 apiece in the 75th.
“It’s my job to just make a good run and he (Puig) is gonna put the ball in the right place. So I did that two times. Unfortunately, the first time was offside and the second one was perfect. So it was an easy goal,” Joveljic said afterwards.
Mark Delgado’s game-winning goal in the 80th sealed the deal for the Galaxy, capping off a thrilling turnaround in a ten minute span.
Delgado’s play drew high praise from his boss afterwards.
“When the system is flowing Mark is going to be on, always,” Vanney said.
Delgado earned his fifth goal contribution in as many matches, but Vanney highlighted his work as a box-to-box player.
“Mark doesn’t see he transitions to defend, he covers ground he works and he plays at a high intensity for 90 minutes like nobody else and that constantly puts him in the middle of the action,” Vanney added. “Whether it’s on the defensive side or the attacking side. He’s omnipresent in whatever is happening because of his work rate and because of how much high speed work he can do to stay involved in the game.”
Next, the Galaxy will return home to host the Seattle Sounders at Dignity Health Sports Park, Saturday Mar. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
