You hate to throw the phrase "must win" around lightly. The second or third match of the season? Never a must win. But there comes a time when a team is in search of points to justify their standing in the table. At a certain point, your record is your record. And there's no hiding.
LAFC found themselves at that crossroads after being knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup and suffering consecutive defeats to New York Red Bulls and Sporting KC. So when home matches against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and then a quick turnaround against the Colorado Rapids on Sunday presented themselves, and teams were moving their way up the Western Conference table to the detriment of LAFC... yeah, you could say those were "must win" matches.
And in a lot of ways, that makes LAFC's consecutive 2-0 wins with the spotlight on them all the more impressive.
Here are the takeaways from LAFC's 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids:
Nothing Came Easy
Colorado entered the night on a three-match unbeaten run and riding high after snatching a late point in Carson the last time out. Despite their position in the table, they're no pushovers. And they showed it from the opening whistle.
Playing in a narrow midfield, the Rapids ran... and ran.... and ran. Look at their defensive map in the first half alone:
They made it very difficult on LAFC, especially in pivotal areas on the pitch. Kellyn Acosta, in particular, was harassing the LAFC midfielders and attackers up and down the entire match.
Very Involved Fullbacks
With Colorado playing so narrow, LAFC had to find ways to use possession, and not just have it for the sake of having it.
To do that, fullbacks Jordan Harvey and Steven Beitashour were critical. Colorado make it a point to clog the middle (as you can see from the graphic above), so playing with width and in the half spaces to entice their midfielders to move out of position is a must. But when you do that with your midfield, you leave the Rapids a free run at the heart of your defense, so you need fullbacks that can provide width and get back in a hurry if necessary.
Beita and Harvey had to read the match and figure out when to assist the attack in wide areas or centrally to allow the likes of Lee Nguyen, Carlos Vela and Benny Feilhaber a chance to cause trouble in the half spaces. A lot of what makes LAFC go offensively is spacing. Both had to really pick their moments tonight.
Harvey in particular was a force going on the left. His linking with Nguyen and Diego Rossi consistently created opportunities or kept the ball moving for LAFC, and it was his recoveries and tracking back that sprung many LAFC attacks when possession was lost.
A Goal in Three Passes
I can't stop watching this goal.
There's so much to love here. The quick one-touch passing to get the ball down the pitch in a hurry. There's Adama Diomande's back-heel pass... perfection. And then Diego Rossi, taking the ball on the full sprint and going straight for goal is exactly what you want to see from the Uruguayan. The finish, as well, is clinical.
But let's not forget Latif Blessing here. His dummy run occupies the second defender enough to cause confusion and give Rossi some time on the ball. That's a long run at full speed knowing you're not getting the ball. You can't underscore that unselfish contribution enough.
The Silva-Ciman Partnership
Maybe you watched a ton of Dynamo Kiev matches in recent years, but I haven't.
I'm not saying I didn't think Danilo Silva would workout at LAFC. The defender has Champions League pedigree, and the Ukrainian League is no cakewalk. But he's taken to MLS with aplomb after a 13-year absence (remember he only five appearances for the MetroStars the first time around). Couple that with the immediate understanding he seems to have with both Bob Bradley's system and Laurent Ciman, and Silva has been a hit thus far.
After the match, Bradley made it clear the team demands a lot from its center backs. It's a function of wanting to play a high line, to play an attacking style, and to push the initiative. That being said, there will be "emergency situations" at times, as Bradley put it. Just like attackers are asked to step up and score in pivotal moments, Ciman and Silva are asked to defend at crucial times.
Against the Rapids, Ciman had a 2v1 situation he sussed out with a perfectly timed sliding challenge. And Silva returned the favor in the second half with this:
Points On Offer And Points Earned
At the full-time whistle, this was the most important takeaway from this match, and this week really.
With the walls closing in on them lately, LAFC had six points on offer and took all six. And they did it with consecutive 2-0 shutouts. Like Bob Bradley said after the match, a 2-0 win is usually the sign of a team controlling a match and finishing it off. That's exactly the type of confidence LAFC needs at this moment.
