LAFC Can’t Overcome Its Own Mistakes Against Vancouver

Saturday night, the shoe was on the other foot. After scoring with less than a minute on the clock against Seattle in midweek, LAFC was down a goal two minutes into its match against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The deficit had shrunk to two after twenty-one minutes.

LAFC came within a goal of its opponent twice on the night. Despite the valiant efforts, the outcome was never in doubt.

“I’ll just start by congratulating Vancouver. They had the right gameplan for tonight, made some plays, and we made one too many errors,” Steve Cherundolo said after the match. “Anytime you concede three goals at home, it’s hard to win. And in the end, you don’t deserve it.”

The defeat marked the end of LAFC’s most hectic stretch of the season, with eight games in 24 days.

For the first time since late May, Cherundolo’s team will have a week to prepare for its next opponent. But it’s only a brief respite.

The Black and Gold begin a mini-gauntlet of five matches in 14 days before taking a much-needed break in mid-July.

The following are the key takeaways from LAFC’s 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps:

Good Gameplan

Vanni Sartini, head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps, surprised nearly everyone with his starting lineup choices. Given his international absences, Sartini started center forwards Brian White and Sergio Córdova and shifted Designated Player Ryan Gauld to left wingback.

While it seemed strange at first, it was the perfect combination for the night.

Due to the Gold Cup, injuries, and fixture congestion, Steve Cherundolo started Ilie Sánchez at center back rather than his usual position in the center of LAFC’s midfield. The move, while forced on Cherundolo, was not without precedent. Sánchez appeared 22 times at center back for Sporting KC in 2021.

Moving Gauld to the left touchline provided crucial solutions for Vancouver against LAFC. Gauld was a more readily available outlet in space for his teammates away from the tight spaces at the center of the pitch. Once on the ball, the Scottish playmaker’s game was reduced to receiving and picking out his target men in the box against a depleted LAFC defense.

Gauld finished the night with one goal and two assists.

Looking For Advantages

LAFC came out firing in the second half, thanks to Dénis Bouanga’s goal just before halftime.

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The Black & Gold pushed Vancouver back into its own half, causing serious problems for its back three thanks to the positioning of Carlos Vela and Mateusz Bogusz.

Cherundolo reshuffled his midfield, putting José Cifuentes at the base next to Daniel Crisostomo and allowing Bogusz to move closer to Vela on the front line.

The resulting shape resembled a box midfield for LAFC. Vela and Bogusz were frequently dropped off Vancouver’s back three, falling short of receiving from teammates. The strategy had a two-pronged effect.

Andrés Cuba and Alessandro Schöpf were frequently outnumbered 4 – 2 in midfield, while the Whitecaps center backs had to decide whether to stay tight to Vela and Bogusz, freeing space in behind, or allow the duo to receive between the lines, giving them time to pick a pass.

The latter was more often than not chosen by Vancouver’s center backs. Vela and Bogusz exploited the space between the lines by carrying the ball at the heart of the Whitecaps’ defense, while Stipe Biuk and Bouanga exploited the edges of Vancouver’s narrow backline.

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LAFC’s two-goal deficit and errors proved too much for them to overcome. However, the change gave the team a solid foothold in the second half.

Silver Linings

There’s no way to justify conceding three goals at home. The defeat was LAFC’s second at BMO Stadium in the 2023 MLS season. Last season, the Black & Gold only lost two games at home.

However, there were some encouraging signs for the near future:

• Dénis Bouanga scored his 11th goal of the season and first in five matches.
• Carlos Vela scored his sixth goal of the season.
• Bouanga and Vela scored in the same match for the first time in 2023.
• Timothy Tillman played 10 minutes as a substitute against Vancouver, his first MLS minutes since May 20.

If the club is to win the Western Conference, it will need improved performances from all three of those players in the second half of the MLS season.

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Quincy Thomas

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