Galaxy search for answers as hectic month continues
The Galaxy have had trouble unlocking their offensive attack this season.
Chicharito Hernandez leads the club with five goals but hasn't scored in the past five games.
Kévin Cabral has yet to score. Douglas Costa just added his second goal of the season, scoring on a free kick in Saturday's 3-1 loss to FC Dallas.
In 11 games, the Galaxy have scored just 12 goals, and in eight of those games, they have scored one goal or less. Frustration? Disappointment? They're all the same at this point.
“I think we all just have to continue to work on our principles, but also get on the same page,” Galaxy midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. “So, you know, some guys playing one and two touch, some guys with more qualities are on the dribble, and so the game slows down a little bit, and we need to get that automation of working with each other and understanding the timing of plays.”
The Galaxy (6-4-1, 19 points) will look to get back on track tonight on the road against Minnesota United FC (4-5-2, 14 points), which has lost three in a row.
Timing and speed of play have been just some of the problems.
“On the attacking side, I think sometimes we get into these attacking positions and we take the easy way instead of putting balls in dangerous positions and going for it,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “Right now, I don't even know if our forwards know if we're going to play the ball across or not play the ball across because sometimes we just spin out and play backward and then the forwards don't maybe run...
“I think there's some indecisiveness sometimes in the final action, timing isn't right, sometimes the choice in the final pass, the execution sometimes isn't great. Sometimes just the finish misses. We put the ball in a good place and we don't finish. You have to dissect each action to have a reason why one of the other didn't execute, but too many times we're not completing the action in the best way to have a great chance or a goal.”
Some of that offensive creation should return with Victor Vazquez's reinsertion into the lineup. After missing more than a month with an upper leg injury, Vazquez was on the roster Saturday, but after missing a month and with the game out of hand, he wasn't used. Now, with a game Wednesday and a quick turnaround Sunday, the Spanish midfielder should be a factor, but the concern will always be how many minutes can he play.
Busy month
Including the trip to Minnesota, the Galaxy have four games remaining this month.
After tonight, the Galaxy return home to face Houston on Sunday. May 25 is the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 matchup at home against LAFC and the month ends against Austin FC. In total, this will end up being a seven-game month.
“Well, you know, it's one game at a time,” Kljestan said. “First things first, we have to go to Minnesota. I would say there's two things we have to do. One is look at video because you don't have a lot of time to actually physically train on the field. So, a lot of stuff has to be in the classroom. The other thing for us that's important is our depth. We're going to need a lot of guys to contribute over the next 15 days or so. Everybody's got to be ready. Everyone's mentality has to be ready.”