Weekend update: Ugly progress
Naturally the Galaxy and LAFC weren’t firing on all cylinders after posting dominant performances last week. This is MLS after all.
Confession time: Despite the excitement surrounding a new season, the opening 5-6 matches are usually my least favorite. You’ve got players working their way to peak match fitness, new signings getting up to speed…it takes time and lots and lost of repetitions for the squad to properly execute patterns of play and develop chemistry.
As a result it can be difficult to draw conclusions, which is where I find myself reminiscing about the LA Galaxy’s lopsided 4-1 loss at Colorado.
Are the Galaxy the team we saw in the first half, a defensively solid unit who nevertheless conceded while failing to finish chances? Or is the 2026 squad more like what we saw the opening 15 minutes of the second half, when LA equalized after putting the Rapids under considerable pressure?
Sadly we missed the chance to find out after Gabriel Pec was given his marching orders for a foolish tackle which ruined everything.
One thing’s for sure: With four goals in three matches, Joáo Klauss is legit. That being said, Marco Reus was ineffective in a starting role. Edwin Cerrillo’s distribution that night? Not great.
(I wouldn’t worry about the Pec red card btw. Yes it was obviously a dumb mistake, but the Brazilian has always been good at playing aggressively without going overboard. I don’t expect it’ll happen again)
Meanwhile LA face SKC this weekend without Pec and Joseph Paintsil, who suffered a non-contact leg injury.
For LAFC, ugly progress is securing a narrow 1-0 home win over FC Dallas despite struggling thanks to a David Martinez thunderbolt, because that’s what elite teams with superior talent do. Credit to Dallas btw for playing on the front foot and deservedly winning the xG battle.
The Black and Gold won at Houston with Mark Delgado and Stephen Eustáquio scoring from distance as well, which leads me to wonder if is this sustainable.
Sort of? No one’s expecting LAFC to score bangers from distance every match, but with Son Heung-Min, Denis Bouanga, David Martinez capable of doing so alongside Delgado and Eustáquio, the long distance shot is a legitimate weapon for Marc Dos Santos.