TAKEAWAYS: A Work In Progress
LAFC shows room for improvement in 0-0 draw at home to Sporting KC.
The moment arrived after 81 minutes. A broken play. A loose ball at the center of the box. A goalkeeper rooted to his line. Just the way Dénis Bouanga likes it.
If the match between LAFC and Sporting KC at BMO Stadium on Saturday night was supposed to be a celebration of the 2023 Golden Boot winner’s freshly signed contract extension, the outcome of the aforementioned play and the 0-0 final score put the fireworks on standby for now. Despite arriving at the opportune moment, like he did so often last season, Bouanga’s shot was tame - not the lightning bolt, net-buster you’d surely bet your house, my house, and probably the collective houses of the near 20k Black & Gold fans in the stadium watching.
Through three matches, last season’s LAFC, MLS, and continental top scorer is goalless. Not for lack of trying though. Bouanga has taken the second-most shots (16) in the league through three matches. He managed seven shots against SKC.
In his 2023 Golden Boot winning season, when he scored on average every 6.7 shots, his performance against SKC would have been good enough to earn LAFC all three points. Unfortunately, a scorer’s luck is like that sometimes. And even worse for LAFC, when Bouanga isn’t scoring… he really isn’t contributing much else.
With Carlos Vela’s future in Black & Gold still up in the air, Bouanga is the face of LAFC. The recent contract extension further cements Bouanga’s talisman status in LA - even if you believe the extension is just a safeguard to guaranteeing a big return on investment from a possible impending transfer.
As a result, Bouanga has to add to his game. A team’s main man affects matches even when he’s not scoring. Vela provided assists when he wasn’t finding the back of the net. Although not as creative of a passer, Bouanga would do well to get the ball out of his feet every so often. As was the case last season, Bouanga attracted multiple makers anytime the ball was in his possession. Jake Davis was glued to the striker all night and had the benefit of some help from his friends.
Too often Bouanga went it alone against SKC. To an extent, he’s earned that right - Bouanga was Top 5 in successful take-ons (87) aka the number of defenders he dribbled around last season. On Saturday night, the forward’s success rate was zero. Worse still, his passing rate was 47 percent. A player that receives that much attention from the opposition has to understand it’s at the expense of leaving at least one of his teammates free. This brings us to another area Bouanga can affect games without scoring or even dribbling.
The sight of Bouanga standing near the touchline, an opponent within a few yards of him, waiting to receive a pass is not something you want to see if you’re LAFC. He may be eight months shy of his 30th birthday but Bouanga is still a physical specimen and probably tops MLS athleticism charts. While he’s most dangerous with a head of steam and the ball at his feet, he can utilize that pace and power even before receiving. With just 34 touches on Saturday night, Bouanga has to know by now that opponents have a game plan in place whenever he receives the ball. In the same way improving his passing can open the game, so can improved off-the-ball movement. Even when Bouanga doesn’t receive the ball, his runs will stretch teams nervous about what might happen the one or two times he does receive the ball behind their backline.
We’re just three matches into the season. It’s not panic time yet for the Golden Boot winner but if he wants to take his performances from top scorer to MVP-level, improving his passing and off-the-ball movement will go a long way for him and LAFC in 2024. And with that, here are the Takeaways from LAFC’s 0-0 draw at home against Sporting KC:
The Tactical Battle
I know what you’re thinking. “A scoreless draw? Oh, no! Vince is gonna nerd out about tactics and tell us the game was actually exciting to watch.”
Thank you for seeing me. Because that is exactly what I’m going to do!
In a nutshell, the tactics of this match were press vs. patience.
From the opening kickoff, LAFC looked like a team that had been waiting all week to play a match on a surface they could run on because… well, they weren’t able to do that last week in Utah. And because this team’s identity is still to play on the front foot, press opponents deep in their defensive third, and take advantage of the chaos that results.
On the opposite side, SKC came ready to control the chaos with possession. Peter Vermes’ team attempted 635 passes on the night. Where many teams might opt to play over the press, Sporting veered into it, posing a few problems for LAFC as a result.
Using tempo and patient prodding with the ball, SKC worked around LAFC’s press and into the offensive third on numerous occasions in the first half. The movement SKC was most fond of was the result of occupying LAFC’s fullbacks with inside movements of wide forwards Dániel Sallói and Johnny Russell in conjunction with Alan Pulido’s proclivity to drop into midfield as an extra man in possession. This freed Erik Thommy to run ahead of the ball in an attempt to punch holes in LAFC’s backline.
Thanks to Hugo Lloris and LAFC’s team defending, Sporting weren’t able to get as many clean looks as they would have liked despite the superiority in possession and territory in the first 45 minutes. Ultimately, it was LAFC’s possession that created the biggest chance in the half when Eduard Atuesta’s third-man run in combination with Timothy Tillman and Mati Bogusz put the Colombian in on goal in the 12th minute. If not for a great reflex save from Tim Melia, LAFC would have had the match’s opener.
In the second half, the effects of early season fitness looked to take a toll on both teams. The match began to stretch as the sides and players’ energy levels waned. For an LAFC team that thrives in transition, it provided more end roads to goal as the spaces grew across the pitch but SKC remained dangerous when LAFC’s pressing movements weren’t in time. Thankfully, Lloris was still up to the task, making a brilliant stop on Memo Rodriguez in the match’s 83rd minute.
As matches go, Saturday was a good example of teams still playing into fitness but the excitement of what it’s like to watch two teams going strength on strength, pushing momentum back and forth throughout, and resulting in an enjoyable watch despite the lack of goals.
Will LAFC Ever Score Again?
First off, calm down. Second, do we have to have this talk again?
It’s three matches into a season in which LAFC’s biggest question was always going to be “Will they find a secondary scoring option?” It seems like a lot of you are already a resounding “NO” on that question or putting your hopes in an 18-year-old who’s new to the league.
(Side note: I think David Martinez is just as exciting as you guys do. But I will say to all those ready to expel Cristian Olivera back to Uruguay that despite Martinez entering this match and immediately making an impact in terms of chances created, the result was still the same: zero goals. Again, I’m excited to see him play more but remember that we don’t know what we don’t know. If he doesn’t start the next match it could be due to a myriad of factors including training (we don’t know), fitness (we don’t know), and his understanding of LAFC’s game model since going the team less than a month ago (we don’t know!). Let’s give both kids a chance.)
There’s a reason LAFC is still in talks with Carlos Vela beyond his legend status with the Club. John Thorrington and company are aware of the need for more quality in the final third despite having some exciting newcomers. Whether that results in Vela joining or another attacker coming in remains to be seen - if you’re looking for the big names though, summer is most likely the time for that to happen.
But as I’ve always said, I’ll be more concerned if the goals aren’t going in due to lack of chances. Remember, chance creation > finishing… at least in terms of sustainable success for a team. There is something to be said for the quality of a great finisher that needs just one chance to make a difference but ultimately, creating more chances is the best route to more goals.
LAFC’s scoring and chance creation has been thus to date: a 2-1 win despite having less xG than its opponent (albeit Seattle’s penalty skews those numbers), a snow game that I’m not counting (it’s my substack, I can do what I want!), and 0-0 draw against a very good SKC team in which LAFC generated the better chances despite having less of the ball. I’m not ready to declare a full state of emergency here. Dénis Bouanga is going to score if the chance creation keeps trending up. And despite what you might think about the scoring ability of the secondary options, the likelihood of them finding the back of the next with the myriad of chances- that also hopefully improve in quality as the players’ form and fitness improve - is pretty high.
That being said, for the foreseeable future it will be secondary scoring by committee for LAFC. And I understand the trepidation from many fans in that regard. But it was the same story last season and LAFC reached the MLS Cup final. I’m confident, as has been reported, LAFC is serious about bringing in another option (likely in the summer window) though. Now, whether you are too really depends on your trust in John Thorrington and the front office’s ability to acquire big names. I would think the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Gareth Bale wearing Black & Gold in the past along with a World Cup-winning goalkeeper agreeing to a massive pay cut to join LAFC would have put those fears at bay… but you do you.
Work In Progress
All things considered, four points through three(ish) matches are by no means incongruent with LAFC’s ambitions. It’s a looonnggg season. A lot can happen.
As they did ahead of the 2022 season, LAFC massively overhauled the roster. And yet, it still looks like the team we’re accustomed to seeing in many ways.
It’s not easy to maintain a game model that is dynamic and forward-thinking while integrating many players, some of which arrived at different times. That’s not for lack of planning or trying, that’s the reality of world football. And it has to be said, the players LAFC have brought in thus far are exciting (see: Martinez).
To discount this result against a good SKC side would be foolish, especially considering LAFC’s “work in progress” status. I would go so far as saying this is the type of result on the back of adversity that brings a young team together. Don’t forget, over the back half of last season, SKC was one of the best teams in MLS and is relatively unchanged to start 2024.
LAFC on the other hand has changed nearly half its starters since its final match of 2023… which also happened to be MLS Cup. That’s a daunting task, but again, the last time they overhauled the roster in this way was coming off a season in which they failed to make the playoffs before raising MLS Cup. It can be done. And there are some promising pieces already in place.
If there were any questions about Hugo Lloris’s age or lack of playing time leading up to now, those questions have been answered. Even as LAFC transitions, he’s proven to be the type of keeper who can save you some points and even steal all three. Omar Campos had the tough task of replacing one of LAFC’s most consistent players of the last four seasons in Chiqui Palacios. The left back’s stellar debut in Black & Gold was in danger of being tarnished after a forgettable performance at RSL. But despite being just 21, Campos stepped up his game in helping LAFC maintain the clean sheet against SKC and even grew into the game, getting the better of Johnny Russell despite being pinned back in the first half. And Eduard Atuesta looks like he never left, dictating play and adding a layer of creativity to LAFC’s passing game that lacked much of last season.
Those are all promising signs for a team whose only loss was in a blizzard.
Which brings me back to the beginning of these Takeaways. All of this is without Dénis Bouanga finding the back of the net so far this season. Trust me, he’s gonna get his.
Great writing, Vince. Thanks for the terrific analysis.
Good to very good defensive performance against a good defensive opponent. I thought even the much maligned Aaron Long had a good game. Is Chiellini actually doing some coaching? Offense not together at all which made for painful viewing at BMO, but if that comes together in time we know what can happen. Still don't Bogusz works in the middle - maybe Dolo will try Martinez there next game or soon?