TAKEAWAYS | They Can't Win If They Can't Score
LAFC continues its historic run of clean sheets with shutout victories against Atlanta, Minnesota, and Dallas.
Break time is over. At least it is for me. LAFC will take the weekend off following its 1-0 victory over FC Dallas. But I’m back to writing Takeaways after a brief hiatus.
If you’re reading this now, thanks for sticking around. I needed a break. What was supposed to be just a holiday weekend turned into a holiday week. And during that time, LAFC just kept winning anyway. So, all’s well that ends well in my book.
But enough about me. LAFC has won five matches in a row in MLS and seven across all competitions. It’s been nearly 10 hours since they conceded a goal. They’ve climbed to second in the Western Conference, just three points back of leaders Real Salt Lake with a game in hand. Oh, and how can I forget to mention… Olivier Giroud is still on his way to Los Angeles next month.
Yeah, it’s been fun to be an LAFC fan again (TBF, it always was!).
Because three matches have come and gone since I last graced your inbox, I’m not going to leave you hanging. Instead of focusing on the big picture from one match, let’s go bigger. Here are the Takeaways from LAFC’s perfect week of wins - FC Dallas + Atlanta and Minnesota:
480 Minutes
It’s 575 minutes in all competitions. But who’s counting? Well, I am, of course.
Can you imagine watching eight hours of goalless football? No, you can’t. Because you don’t have to imagine, you’ve actually seen it.
Shootouts and seven-goal thrillers are fun, but there’s something about a clean sheet. Especially, when your team starts to string them together like this.
It’s not only that a clean sheet greatly increased the likelihood of earning three points. It’s dominant. Almost demoralizing to the opponent. The point of the game is to score more than your opponent, and right now, LAFC’s opponents can’t figure out the “score” part, let alone the “more” qualification.
For a team that had just two clean sheets in its first 12 matches, reeling off a streak of six without conceding is… well, it’s weird. We’re all asking the same question lately. How did this happen?
A lot of people are pointing in the direction of Maxime Chanot. The center back joined LAFC a month into the season and the team has lost just once since his arrival.
Chanot is a bit of Giorgio Chiellini-Lite. And I mean that as a compliment. Like the Italian, Chanot is relentless, physical, and no-nonsense in his defending. But what people really love lately is his reading of the game and his passing from the back. With Chanot on the pitch, LAFC has been much better in buildup situations. Fewer giveaways in poor situations or in close proximity to your own goal will always be a recipe for success.
Singling out just one player to account for what has been a complete team turnaround doesn’t feel right though. Chanot has been great. But he also didn’t start and played minimal minutes in two of the last five matches. And yet, LAFC still produced clean sheets.
My take is this was always the direction LAFC was headed. From the start of the season, Steve Cherundolo spoke about controlling games. He wanted his team to have tempo. Go fast when the route to the opponent’s goal is open. Slow things down and keep the ball when it wasn’t.
That’s the thing about possession though. Especially, in an athletic league like MLS, the more you have the ball the more chances you have to make a mistake resulting in the opponent getting transition opportunities.
Last season, LAFC were transition monsters. They sat deep and tore teams apart on the break. Then they lost five starters in the offseason and began the process of implementing a more pragmatic, controlled style. With the learning curve and more opportunities for error, it was always going to take time.
“I think the team is playing a mature, professional, complete 90 minutes,” Cherundolo said after the FC Dallas match when asked to explain his team’s recent run of form. “We’re dangerous enough going forward. Some teams have better solutions against us, so we don’t have as many clear chances. But in every game, we’re creating chances, which is always important to see. And we are not giving up many chances. I think our collective defending is very good.
“As I said last week, I think part of collective defending is also making good decisions with the ball in buildup play. You’re not exposing yourself to too many transitions. When you do lose the ball, it’s in an area of the field that doesn’t hurt you that much. And when you do lose the ball, your reactions are good and collective and immediate.”
Create chances as often as possible, minimize risk as a group, and eliminate errors. It took maybe 10 matches to get there but LAFC has found its collective identity in 2024.
Mati Time
There are few things more satisfying than when a young player realizes his potential.
A few weeks back, it was Cristian Olivera putting it all together to produce a string of match-winning performances. Now it’s Mateusz Bogusz time to shine.
The 22-year-old has three goals and two assists in his last five matches. During LAFC’s current five-match winning streak, Bogusz has scored or assisted in every game. And nearly every contribution has been vital.
Bogusz set up the game-winning goal in LAFC’s first road win against St. Louis. He won and converted a free kick that was the only goal in another road win in Atlanta.
Back in LA, Bogusz scored a screamer to finish off Minnesota United in midweek. And against FC Dallas, he produced this beauty of an assist on the game-winning goal - despite the tight window and timing, the weight of this ball is so perfect that Bouanga doesn’t have to touch the ball until he’s ready to shoot.
Bogusz has always had this quality. But too often he’d be on in one game and anonymous in the next. Consistency is what makes a good player with skill into a great player. Now the question is, what happens once Giroud arrives?
If you go all the way back to the first match against Minnesota, I criticized Bogusz for failing to make a couple of key passes that are a prerequisite of a top-level false 9. Over the last five matches, he’s proven he can find positions to receive, look upfield, and now provide a quality pass. And of course, he’s scoring a few goals of his own. It’s been a month of complete performances from the Polish attacker.
While I think those contributions bode well even if he’s pushed back into midfield - with Timothy Tillman joining USMNT camp this week and possibly sticking around for Copa America, that’s a very good thing - but my gut tells me it could also earn him a move away from LAFC. And I know, I know! You just started to love the guy and I’m already tabbing him to be shipped off to another team. But this is and always has been LAFC’s MO. Young players come to LA as a stepping stone and I think Bogusz is no different. It’s a cycle.
Each time a young player comes to LAFC, succeeds, catches the eye of bigger clubs, and moves on, it’s proof of concept. For every Bogusz or even Diego Rossi, there’s another young player looking to take the next step. And the cycle starts again.
Glad to have you back writing about LAFC… I’m always waiting for your thoughts on the most recent game… also appreciate your HT twitter thoughts …. Keep doing what you’re doing
Appreciate the new takeaways. It’s been a great run of games and I think Cherundolo deserves a lot of credit for his adjustments since the start of the season. When I saw Segura and Dueñas starting together in the midfield against MU I had some trepidation, but felt like the game plan was designed to fit the players on the pitch.
I was a Dolo Out person last year despite the success based on how unappealing their style of play was. I was also probably one of the few Bob In people, just because I feel with the talent LAFC possesses I want to see a more dynamic style of play. To his credit I think Dolo is recalibrating their approach as you pointed out. That may seem like an easy thing for a manager to figure out, but compare it to other teams like Whitecaps where Sartini continues to push his wingbacks high even though they are getting murdered by wings down their left flank or Dallas where they have a giant number 9 who is the ideal target striker, but they have him playing the position like Bogusz.
I also think enough can’t said about how well Tillman is playing this year. He’s been a rock in midfield. He reminds me a bit of Lee Nguyen. He doesn’t depend on athleticism, just typically in the right spot and knows the right pass to make. Again I think it’s a credit to the coaching staff that the 2nd year players have all improved from last year.