It has only been 11 weeks since the Galaxy raised the mls cup for A record sixth timeAn opportunity that the team celebrated on Sunday with a relay of supporters and the first speakers carrying the Philip F. Anschutz trophy in the midfielder at Dignity Health Sports Park.
A triumphant video played on the huge video screens of the stadium, fireworks have filled the air and a dark blue championship banner was deployed above the southwest stands of the recently renovated stadium.
Then the new season started and all of this suddenly seemed to be a distant memory with the San Diego FC, a Extension team playing their first MLS matchCrushing the galaxy festival by scoring two goals in the second half of Anders Dreyer and a white leaf from the goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos to an incredible 2-0 upheaval before a closed window of 25,244.
The defeat was the first of the Galaxy in 22 home games, dating from the last 2023 game.
“It cannot happen,” said coach Greg Vanney. “This is where we get points, this is where we win. We have established it as something that was very important to us, and something we did last year. We don't lose at home.
“So, is it a rallying cry? It is an alarm clock, I suppose. We must be more prepared and we must be better, especially at home.”
The galaxy was missing four of the players who led them to the title last year, including the MVP MVP Gastón Brugman and Dejan Jveljic, the MLS Cup, which scored the winning goal in the final. The two were exchanged, sacrificed to the league salary ceiling.
“There is no excuse,” said Captain Maya Yoshida. “We have missed some important players, experienced players, who can change the game. We have the team's basis since last season.
“We should have done better.”
But if it was not an excuse for the loss of Sunday, that was at least part of the explanation. Joveljic was one of the four galaxy players to reach both goals and assists last season; No MLS team had done that before. However, one of the four, winger Gabriel Pec, was in uniform since Jveljic was exchanged last month, and Joseph Paintsil and Riquig Puig came out with injuries.
The parts that Vanney used to assemble a range in these absences did not correspond. Christian Ramírez, the replacement of Jveljic at the front, was ineffective in his 63 minutes while the German veteran Marco Reus could not provide the pace or death of Puig in the midfield. This left the isolated – and frustrated PEC – for most of the afternoon.
“We were not very dynamic in half before the field,” said Vanney. “When we got there and we had in the long -term positions, we do not really transform possessions into attacks.
“We look a bit disjointed.
Dreyer, a Danish international who played last month in Belgium with Anderlecht, scored the first goal in the history of the franchise seven minutes after the start of the second half. It was set up by a huge galaxy error with goalkeeper Novak Micovic, just making his fifth start of MLS, taking a Miki Yamane handbag in front of his lens and overthrowing a poor size output ball to center Emiro stretch in the galaxy area.
Healed raised a boot but could not control the pass, which rebounded to Chucky Lozano from San Diego. He then sent it to the center of the box to Dreyer, whose shooting of the left foot beat Micovic proper.
“In the end, the game is making a mistake,” said Vanney.
“It was almost more self -defense than doing something with it.” The whole thing felt a little hasty, and that didn't really need to be. “
The score opened the match while the Galaxy pushed for the equalizer, almost obtaining it in the 79th minute when a Yamane cross found a Miguel Berry sliding on the edge of the six yards. But the deviation of the left foot of Berry was suffocated by Dos Santos. A minute later, Dos Santos made another backup, one of the three of the day, in testing from the center of the box by Ruben Ramos Jr.
Dreyer then did all of this with his second goal three minutes after the time to stop, the former LAFC striker, Tomás ángel, obtained assistance on the game.
For the galaxy, it was a bitter end to a day that started with a happy celebration.
“It's very obvious,” said Yoshida. “We have to be better.”
