TAKEAWAYS | Are We Back?

Are we back?

If we’re talking about LAFC, the answer has to be, unequivocally, yes. More on that later, though, because you might be asking that same question about this Substack. It’s been literal years since a post from Black & Gold Takeaways has hit your inbox. And for some of you, this is the first time the random blog you signed up for has finally delivered. Welcome!

That being said, I think it’s fair to ask, “Are Black & Gold Takeaways back?”

For those of you who don’t know, I worked for LAFC, either directly or indirectly, from 2018 to 2023. I helped start the podcast — shoutout to Inside LAFC and Max Bretos. I helped produce Anatomy of a Goal, which still pops up on LAFC’s socials from time to time. I hosted In Touch with Steve Cherundolo for LAFC and 110 Football (RIP) the season we won MLS. I even did postgame interviews on the pitch after matches. All of that is to say, what I’m proudest of is Takeaways. After every match, I wrote Takeaways and published them on LAFC’s website before eventually taking them to Substack.

Over the years, several LAFC fans stopped me at the stadium to tell me how much they enjoyed reading my takes after a match. For some, it was their morning ritual. Others just liked knowing someone else was thinking about the matches just as much as they were, even after the final whistle. But the most fulfilling (and humbling) compliments I received were from people who shared how much they learned from Takeaways. Even after I stopped writing them and focused my attention on Happy Foot Sad Foot full-time, every so often, someone would pull me aside to tell me that they understood what they were watching and appreciated the sport so much more because of what I wrote.

So, yes, I’m back. It might not be right after the match. Or even after every match — especially midweek matches. But as much as I love doing the Happy Foot Sad Foot postgame, this medium allows me to expand on my thoughts. And selfishly, I need the reps. The computers are coming for people like me. I need to stay as sharp as possible. Seriously, can we start talking about LAFC already?!

Anytime you can shut out your rival away from home, a place you’ve only won once before, and get Son Heung-Min off the mark is a success. Full stop. But derbies are also not necessarily an indicator of future success. Think of the number of times the Galaxy were in the gutter, beat LAFC, and returned to… well, the gutter. Or the reverse scenario: LAFC were flying high, got clipped by the Galaxy, wallowed in defeat, and returned to… being a good team.

The derby giveth and it taketh away. It can break your season, but it really can’t make it. You still have to be a good team. That’s where I feel like LAFC is right now. The Black & Gold avoided the derby trap, but a win doesn’t make them favorites for MLS Cup all of a sudden.

Let’s get into the takeaways from LAFC’s 3-0 win over the Galaxy in Carson:

Is Son Back?

If I had asked you, "Would you trade a loss to the Galaxy for a Son goal before the Galaxy match?" I think the results would have been very interesting. Luckily, we didn’t have to make the trade-off.

In the 57th minute, Son put the cherry on top of LAFC’s victory with his first goal of the MLS season. It was a move we’ve seen often from Sonny in 2026, setting a counterattack in motion after a turnover, driving LAFC forward, and getting the end of an opportunity.

Coming into this match, no player in MLS had taken more shots than Son without a goal. The old cliche is that once a struggling goal scorer gets one, the floodgates will open. And while that may seem true historically, some nuance is lost in that thinking.

The goalscorers that continue to get in good scoring positions are the ones that will open the gates to untapped goals when one finally hits the back of the net. I’ve seen plenty of guys who can’t buy a goal, fluke into one, and then go right back to where they were.

He’s many things, but first and foremost, Son is a finisher. Great dribbler? Yup. Clever playmaker? Check. Top-level competitor? 100%. But Son’s bread and butter is his finishing. He’s two-footed and, as we’ve seen from his playmaking, not one to have a pop just to let a shot fly. I can think of at least four to five chances I would have bet my life on him finishing during this season. Which, when you add it all up, is probably why this streak in MLS weighed so heavily on him — and even in the World Cup — the ball just wouldn’t go in, despite doing everything else right.

Last year, everything Son touched found the back of the net. It was an overperformance, even for a great player, that was bound to regress. The glimmer of hope that LAFC fans like me held on to was that even when he wasn’t scoring, he was still getting into great positions, and sometimes helping teammates score, but mostly uncharacteristically missing. This really does feel like the moment. And not just in a “I hope he’s figured it out” way. Son was consistently showing up in the right moments already. Look out, MLS.

Breaking Down A Low Block Isn’t LAFC’s Problem…

… if they can’t get into the offensive third in the first place.

The broadcast made a point of citing LAFC’s inability to break down low blocks as a team failing this season. While, to be fair, it has been a problem, and the team itself has often spoken about wanting to improve that facet of their game, it wasn’t the concern against the Galaxy.

Ball progression was abysmal on Friday night. And you might be asking, what’s the difference between ball progression and breaking down a low block? Think of the number of times LAFC had control of the ball just before the halfway line against a Galaxy team set in their positions, in other words, not right after a turnover. We’re talking LAFC on the ball, the Galaxy behind it. How many times did LAFC move the ball into the attacking half and create a chance? I’ll wait.

Like many teams around the world, LAFC breaks its team down into attackers and defenders (ball progressors) when attacking from controlled possession (not transition). The attackers push up against the backline, while the ball progressors are tasked with getting the ball to them so they can do what they do best… attack.

To be successful at ball progression, you have to move the ball through the middle third of the pitch and into the attacking half. It’s the step before a team attempts to break down a low block. It happens in a vulnerable area of the pitch where you don’t want to give the ball away but also an area where there is more space to operate. So the right type of personnel or system is imperative.

With the front-footed attackers Marc Dos Santos has at his disposal, you can understand why he’d like them to stay as close to the opposition’s goal as possible. That leaves his defenders and midfielders to figure out ways to stitch the team together into a cohesive unit. Against the Galaxy, they lacked those solutions.

Luckily, the Galaxy have one mode themselves. They can’t play against the ball and were more than willing to keep going forward, especially at home, against their rival. That handed LAFC moments to do what it does best. And they took those moments enough to turn the game in their favor. But against a more competent team, or one that simply doesn’t want to bring the ball forward, MDS still has work to do in setting up a structure that gets the best out of his team with the ball.

Not The Finished Product

The transfer of homegrown Nathan Ordaz feels like the coin being inserted into the merry-go-round. Stephen Eustáquio is back in Porto. Amin Boudri is reportedly headed back to Europe. And this team already felt like it had holes to fill even before those moves.

Luckily, John Thorrington has some room to work now. *Cough* Open DP Spot! *Cough*

What would I do if I was running the team, you ask? Well, I would never… fuck it, let’s play some fantasy football.

I keep going back to how LAFC stitches together its defense and attack. Of its eight wins in MLS this season, every single one has been a shutout. The team already upgraded the backline by adding Yevhen Cheberko. Once Sergi Palencia returns from injury, that unit is going to be stacked.

So how does LAFC get the ball into the attack and get its duo of Son and Denis Bouanga on the ball in dangerous positions?

I still think a DP No. 9 would be my first move. One that can play back to goal, hold up play, and bring his teammates up the field when they go direct, taking some pressure off Son in being both a 9 and a 10, and allowing him to play in his best position, which for me is as a support striker.

After watching the Galaxy game, it seems even more obvious to me that teams are going to congest the midfield against LAFC. Having that option to bypass that area of the pitch completely seems like the quickest fix and a way to get the best out of Son.

It’s not that I think LAFC’s midfield is poor; they just seem to struggle when the game is at their feet. So put them on the front foot, getting forward to win second balls and recycle possession.

That’s all I’ve got. I’m a bit rusty. Hopefully the next one will be better. But man, it’s good to be back.