With LAFC entering another congested bit of scheduling this week, Bob Bradley and his staff gave the players a rare three-day break following the Galaxy match on Thursday. While Laurent Ciman and Carlos Vela are away in Atlanta with the 2018 MLS All-Stars, the rest of the team returned to training on Monday to prepare for three matches in the course of a week.
"In the midst of MLS scheduling and Open Cup, you have periods where there are a lot of games in short period of time. And we have of those coming up. So every now and then, to have an opportunity for a few days to step back, that becomes still a plus," Bradley said following training on Wednesday. "In a long season, it’s rare for players to have three days off, but there is value. They took their three days off, and we prepare things that we want to work on when they return"
That preparation includes planning for upcoming matches, but the 2-2 draw with the Galaxy remains a talking point this week.
"We’re always trying to sharpen up ways to become a better team, a more complete team. And then, there are, of course, details for opponents. We mix those two regularly. In a week like this, after having Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off, Monday is always a reintroduction. You never bring players back after three days off and kill them in training the first day," Bradley said "The first day is just to get the football re-established. The first day is also then to take leftover ideas from the previous game, in this case 2-2, and try to look at some of the details. Pretty obvious that one of the things we try to look at lately is still our identity at the end of games."
Playing the Galaxy for the first time at Banc of California Stadium, LAFC looked fully in control through 80 minutes of the match with a 2-0 lead, only to have to settle for a draw after conceding twice in the final 10-plus minutes. Late match struggles have been a theme that has popped up throughout the season - LAFC dropped points against the Galaxy in March after taking a 3-0 lead and did the same in July against Houston with a 2-0 lead heading into the 90th minute - and it's one Bradley is not shying from.
"It’s not like you just flip a switch. Not like you can all of a sudden say, ‘Drop back and defend. Don’t try to play football.’ Every game is different. Until now, for the most part, we have not subbed defenders for attackers," Bradley said.
"It’s possible at a certain point. You can do that. We’ve tried to get 11 on the field to understand in certain cases the demand to defend a little bit more and be smart about not getting extended. But look, each situation is different."
While many outside of LAFC have theorized on the late game struggles, Bradley's focus all along has been an approach to in-match situations, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all tactical change.
"The first goal came off of their goal kick. And the second goal came off of Tyler’s punt. So you can talk a lot about different defensive ideas, but it’s not like those plays came from open play," Bradley said, referring to the 2-2 draw with the Galaxy. "It came from certain situations where there’s a reaction or a touch, all that. But that’s also football.
"You know, Walker played a great game. But he was so disappointed with himself after the game, because the ball that got away from him on the first goal is a play that he makes 99 times out of 100. So when that happens, how good are we as a team at reacting and covering the moment. In that situation, we didn’t do a good enough job and that brings them back into it. It’s important as always to see the whole picture of what goes on in that game and try to improve on those finer details."
News & Notes
- Mark-Anthony Kaye will have surgery Monday on his fractured left ankle. The midfielder was at LAFC's training facility on Thursday and was in good spirits. He told me he was eager to move on from the surgery saying, "It's all up to me after that."
- Bradley had this to say when asked what the team will miss most on the field from Kaye: "He brings a little bit more range, a little bit more ability to get around the ball, a little bit of an ability to close down, win some balls in air, get into the box in both sides, all those things make him a little bit different."
- Carlos Vela and Laurent Ciman each started and played 45 minutes for the MLS All-Stars in the shootout loss to Juventus in Atlanta. Vela's right-footed volley from the center of the box in the 26th minute initiated the scramble that led to the Josef Martinez's tying goal.
