TAKEAWAYS | LAFC Passes Colorado Test With Flying Colors

The Black & Gold ended the Rapids' three-match winning streak while extending its unbeaten run to 11 games.

The streak lives on. Long live the streak!

LAFC defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-0 on Saturday night to push its club-record unbeaten run to 11 matches. Mati Bogusz scored a hat trick. Hugo Lloris earned his eighth clean sheet. And LAFC maintained its position at the top of the Western Conference ahead of a BIG on 4th of July.

After LAFC pushed its unbeaten run to double digits last week, hammering the undoubtedly worst team in the league San Jose 6-2, we wondered aloud if LAFC was really that good. While memories of the Black & Gold’s worst start in club history continue to fade from memory, the consensus was that LAFC is, in fact, good and good teams demonstrate their superiority by embarrassing bad teams.

Saturday’s 3-0 result, against a team that came into the night ranked fourth in the West and on a three-match winning streak, emphatically confirmed those claims.

LAFC is good! (The exclamation point is now well-deserved.)

Here are the Takeaways from LAFC’s 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids:

The Transformation Is Complete

Of all the storylines this season, the most intriguing one (for this site at least) has been LAFC’s transformation in style.

I’m on the record saying that last season’s LAFC was best described “all gas, no brakes.” They were direct. They were fast. They were, to Steve Cherundolo’s chagrin, one-dimensional. 

There were valid reasons for the lack of nuance. The team played an MLS-record number of matches, resulting in less time on the training ground and less time to recover. Dénis Bouanga was in the midst of a historic purple patch. So when opponents allowed LAFC to conserve energy by sitting deep before unleashing its greatest weapon in the space behind, they took those odds again and again. 

It worked, for the most part. LAFC reached three finals, including back-to-back MLS Cup finals. But without silverware to show for the effort, it was clear a change was needed.

That change from a team white-knuckling end-to-end encounters to a side confidently managing matches with the ball at their own pace was always going to be a process. In addition to shifting LAFC’s default settings, Cherundolo and his coaching staff had to integrate a group of new players while managing the loss of big personalities like Carlos Vela and Giorgio Chiellini. But on Saturday night against the Rapids, the change felt complete.

From the opening whistle, the Rapids went for it. Away teams usually come to BMO stadium intending to be compact and difficult to break down. They’d rather take their chances nipping a goal than affording LAFC space in front of its goal. But the Rapids pressed and pressed and pressed. 

Chris Armas asked his team to step up into LAFC’s half. The athletic front six of the Rapids set the tone early by harassing every pass in LAFC’s half. Unlike the Earthquakes, who sat in a mid-block and offered little resistance to LAFC’s passing patterns, the Rapids refused to afford the Black & Gold the time and space to get comfortable.

When an opponent presses, and presses well, like the Rapids did, teams will often eschew the high-risk, high-reward tactic of playing through the press for a safer approach of going over the press. LAFC being no stranger to direct play, you might have expected they’d opt for the latter strategy. But they didn’t.

Early in the match, LAFC walked a tightrope between controlled buildup and overconfidence. They refused to boot the ball long on many occasions, instead opting to build even deeper in the LAFC half, at times just outside the penalty area. Fullbacks Ryan Hollingshead and Sergi Palencia dropped deep to help centerbacks Jesus Murillo and Aaron Long circulate the ball around the Rapids’ pressure. And in those moments, you could be forgiven for thinking Colorado’s approach would eventually crack LAFC.

But the Black & Gold remained resolute in their approach. They didn’t fall back on old habits. LAFC used the ball to control the match, even if it meant starting from deep. Cherundolo trusted his backline to risk mistakes to occupy Colorado’s front six, while his midfield went to work finding ways through to get the likes of Bouanga and Bogusz running into the space the Rapids left behind.

These “mini-transition” moments occur when a team splits open a pressing opponent, forcing it to reshuffle to get numbers behind the ball to help its retreating backline. In those moments, the time and space attackers have is like a counterattack after winning the ball in midfield. The only difference is the attacking team created the moment with the ball instead of winning it back. 

With the Rapids front six chasing LAFC’s four-man backline aggressively in a man-to-man approach, the central midfield pair of Cole Bassett and Connor Ronan had to balance the press while being outnumbered 3v2 by LAFC’s midfield of Ilie Sánchez, Eduard Atuesta, and Timothy Tillman. The first goal was the result of LAFC’s willingness to build from the back in the face of pressure and that midfield three finding positions to breakthrough when Colorado’s press when they got the balance wrong.

Off an LAFC throw-in in its defensive third, the Rapids press aggressively to one side. Restarts are always a good chance for teams to set their press in an attempt to pin an opponent to the touchline. As the ball is thrown in, the Rapids go into action. And when Tillman plays the ball back to Aaron Long directly from the throw, it’s a trigger for the Rapids to press higher. But in their eagerness to wreak havoc, Ronan is left alone behind the press with two LAFC midfielders. 

It’s too easy for Long to pick out Ilie in acres of space. One pass cuts five Rapids players out of the play. And the break is on. LAFC goes from penned-in to 4v4 against a Colorado backline racing towards its own goal. From there, it’s basic transition play: an early ball into the space for Bouanga to run onto behind the backline, an early cross to the back post, and a tap-in for Bogusz. Tic. Tac. Toe.

Not starting from as deep, LAFC’s second goal featured a similar pattern. Colorado’s front four press as LAFC circulates the ball across its backline. Once again, Ilie isn’t picked up behind the initial wave of pressure. This time, it’s Palencia playing a simple pass to Ilie’s feet, Ronan and Bassett can’t get close, and the Rapids are disconnected once again. 

Despite the scoreline, the Rapids played well. They pressed LAFC better than any team has at BMO Stadium thus far this season. Where the San Jose match felt like a training exercise, Colorado put LAFC’s principles in possession to the test. The Black & Gold adjusted and found solutions that eventually broke the Rapids and the game wide open.

Classic Performance

Speaking of Ilie Sánchez. He had one of his classic performances against Colorado. 

The midfield maestro isn’t flashy. He doesn’t score often. And has just a few assists. You can go an entire match without seeing him. But when LAFC is playing well, nearly everything goes through him.

Ilie is a connector. You saw it in the first two goals. He receives the ball and quickly plays forward to LAFC’s attackers. Simple but effective.

He’s always scanning the pitch, reading the game. When his team turns over the ball, he’s already anticipating. Always first to pressure the ball, he gives his team time to recover the ball quickly or get back into strong defensive positions.

He was perfect in both regards against Colorado. 

If you have the time, I highly recommend this. Go back and rewatch the match. Keep your eyes on Ilie even if he doesn’t have the ball. See how he positions himself when LAFC builds up, but especially when LAFC’s attackers have the ball in the offensive third. He’s always a few steps ahead. 

It’s a masterclass in controlling a match by always being there to balance his team.

Mati, Mati, Mati

Mati with the hatty. 

Max Bretos confirmed after the match, it was Bogusz’s first professional hat trick of his career. He’s the sixth player in LAFC history to record the feat.

Everything Bogusz touches right now turns to gold. During this stretch of 11 matches unbeaten, Bogusz has notched a goal or assist in nine straight matches.

He pops up all over the pitch, making him difficult to track. Once he’s on the ball, he’s hard to dispossess. And while his shot has always been heavy, he’s leveled up his accuracy during this run of form.

Enjoy him while he’s here. Mati is destined for a bigger stage soon.