Tyler Boyd and Ricqui Puig were on target and a corner kick deflected in off of Olivier Mbaizo to give Los Angeles Galaxy a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night.
Jim Curtin elected to play a 4-4-2 in Los Angeles. Matt Real started at left back in the absence of Kai Wagner (hamstring). Joe Bendik continued to deputize in goal with Andre Blake still playing in the Gold Cup.
Los Angeles would take the lead in the 15th minute. Riqui Puig advanced the ball through the midfield for the hosts before finding Marky Delgado on the right side. Delgado fired in a low cross that found Boyd near the penalty spot who swept a shot in underneath Bendik at his near post.
Philadelphia would equalize through Uhre on 36 minutes. Jakob Glesnes found space to advance with the ball on the right side and lined up a shot from 25 yards out. Glesnes’ hit was blocked in the LA box but the rebound fell straight to Uhre, who slid a shot into the lower right corner with Jonathan Klinsmann wrong footed.
The Galaxy would retake the lead just before halftime. Douglas Costa’s corner from the LA right swung right into the Union six yard box. Bendik attempted to claim the ball but got no where near the cross and it deflected in off Olivier Mbaizo’s backside from close range.
LA would make it 3-1 in the 76th minute. Riqui Puig picked up the ball near midfield and ran at the Union backline before laying a cross off to his left to find Douglas Costa. Costa crossed to the left side for Dejan Joveljic, who laid a first time pass into the path of Puig. Puig took a touch and belted his second touch into the top right corner from 20 yards.
Philadelphia is next in action when they travel to Nashville on Wednesday (8:30 p.m.)
Three Points
- Road Woes – Another stinker on the road from the Union this season. They looked poor on Sunday in Atlanta and worse tonight in Los Angeles. Riqui Puig dominated the midfield and dictated play all night.
- Goalkeeping Woes – Another match where Joe Bendik just wasn’t up to the task. The first LA goal squirted under his arm at the near post and he completely flapped at a corner inside his own six yard box for the LA second. Andre Blake sets a high standard, but Bendik has been poor while Blake has been out at the Gold Cup.
- Offensive Woes – Another match where the Union front three looked disjointed. Uhre popped up with a goal, but it involved a lot of luck from Glesnes’ shot coming back to him. Gazdag was invisible most of the night and Carranza off the pace.
Bonus Fourth Point
- Technical Woes – The Apple broadcast skipped out a few times before going out completely twice in the second half. The LA third goal came when the feed was down and anyone watching didn’t see it in real time. Another disappointing night for Apple.
Philadelphia Union
Joe Bendik, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, José Martínez, Matthew Real (Nate Harriel 59′), Olivier Mbaizo, Dániel Gazdag, Leon Flach (Jack McGlynn 69′), Alejandro Bedoya (Jesus Bueno 80′), Mikkel Uhre (Joaquin Torres 80′), Julián Carranza
Subs: Jeremy Rafanello, Jesús Bueno, Holden Trent, Andrés Perea, Quinn Sullivan, Chris Donovan
Los Angeles Galaxy
Jonathan Klinsmann, Chris Mavinga, Kelvin Leerdam, Raheem Edwards, Calegari, Gastón Brugman, Riqui Puig, Marky Delgado, Preston Judd (Dejan Joveljic 62′), Douglas Costa, Tyler Boyd (Daniel Aguirre 77′)
Subs: Oriol Rosell, Maruicio Cuevas, Efrain Álvarez, Novak Micovic, Gino Vivi, Julian Aude, Jonathan Pérez
Scoring Summary
LA: Tyler Boyd – 15′ (Delgado)
PHI: Mikkel Uhre – 36′
LA: Olivier Mbaizo – 45+1′ (own goal)
LA: Riqui Puig – 76′ (Joveljic, Costa)
Disciplinary Summary
PHI: Jose Martinez – 5′ (foul)
PHI: Alejandro Bedoya – 37′ (foul)
LA: Preston Judd – 45+2′ (not retreating)
LA: Dejan Joveljic – 70′ (foul)
PHI: Daniel Gazdag – 89′ (foul)
Nothing really to take joy in with this game. The subs brought absolutely zero energy and Joe giving up another soft one. Ever since they’ve gone back to the 4-4-2 they look lethargic and out of sync.
Maybe it’s time for some fresh faces.
Please Guatemala beat Jamaica!…another poor display…Gazdag is really starting to get on my nerves. Really miss Wagner, especially against teams that excel in transition play. I think McGlynn should be starting by now for either Flach or Bedoya. His passing is something our team sorely lacks in the final third.
I am just so over Apple. Getting really close to just saying F*ck MLS and not renewing my tickets which I’ve had from day 1. Between Apple and what they’ve done to the schedule to accommodate the Leagues Cup and expanded playoffs, I really don’t want to keep giving them my money.
Do it! I had tix for 11 years. Gave it up and occasionally check in here. They’re not committed to win titles. They want to develop and sell players. They’ve admitted that point. I thought the apple deal was to pump some money into the clubs. Obviously it hasn’t worked for the union. Either they have no depth or curtain won’t play them. I’m done paying extra with my subscriptions. I think the apple deal is gonna backfire on the mls. Aside from season ticket holders no one is watching…. You’ll never grow the game that way.
Spot on comments.The U do just enough too maintain some interest but it’s all about the bottom
line for ownership. Winning,sadly,is a secondary consideration. Unfortunately the TV package isolates them from a broader fan base that would lend more criticism. Basically outa sight outa mind with the Philly region.Instead. of growing the sport we have echo bubble isolation. No new fans. Sad in a sport that we all love and wish to achieve recognition by the masses.
Only saw the highlights since I’m up before 7 this morning. Bendik should save the first one. Nothing to be done on the third which was just class. The one off Mbaizo’s back, I’m inclined to believe that no one is at fault. Certainly not Olivier. Glad Uhre got one. But it looked like the Puig show. And yeah, he’s top class. That’s what LAG fans have been expecting from him since he came.
Bendik is brutal but the player I’m really concerned with is Gazdag. Blake will be back (and hopefully Kai too) but who is going to be creating chances from midfield? The rest of the league has figured out that if you sit on Daniel the Union offense disappears.
My own 3 (admittedly half-baked/sleep deprived) points: 1) both the first Galaxy goal and another near-miss were basically a training exercise against a predictable and uninspired press by the Union; in both cases, the ball went from Galaxy keeper to Union goal in like 10 seconds flat — does Vanney have a cheat code for Curtin’s prep work?
2) Uhre is the real problem up top; without that (super fortunate) goal, he was completely absent the whole night, neither doing any meaningful pressing nor getting into any good positional runs for Gazdag to find him
3) A major factor for road trips like this is psychology, and (apologies for big-time Brujo-philes) Martinez just isn’t good for that type of match; his early yellow and then the constant chirping at the ref was a major distraction for a side that looked up for it and ready to play otherwise — I don’t know what else to say but that it is a sap on the other players’ energies to always have to worry about/deal with the nagging fear you will be down to 10 men any minute.
I made it to kick off… then passed out. I’m uncertain if it was the lackluster Union or just fatigue. 22:30 at this point is just not manageable.
Those three home games in September are gonna be MASSIVE.
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Poor effort all around last night. Not looking forward to Bendik vs Nashville midweek. Yikes. He’s just not an MLS quality keeper anymore.
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This team needs something to get it going. A player or two – I don’t know. They’re a middle of the pack team this year who is gonna need to catch fire to make any noise in the playoffs. Sucks after the season we had last year. Ah well
With some help from Guatemala we won’t need to worry about watching Bendik Wednesday.
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Ideally they can go on a late season/playoff run like they did in 2021 (but not have to play a game without 11 players).
Blake made a HUGE save (no shock there) and Jamaica advanced… so I assume it’ll Joey Joe Joe again on Wednesday…. YIKES
Viva Mexico Wednesday night.
Over two years the only good signing has been at a position of the least need – center back.
Does anyone know what the deal is with Perea? A lot seemed to be riding on him being a good backup to an obviously aging Bedoya and he can’t get on the field.
While not great this season, Uhre was a major factor in the team’s success in 2022.
Another bad outing for all the reasons stated above. Uhre has been a disappointment with decisions and heavy touch. I watched the first half and knew the second wouldn’t be any better so opted for alternate viewing. I’m in Nashville for vacation and got tix for Wed. I was looking forward to the game, now I’m just looking forward to seeing the stadium.
Wagner and Blake ……..This game proves again how important Wagner is to the offense and defense. moving the ball to the midfield ,Direct Kicks, Corner kicks, Crosses, field awareness, vision, marking, one on one defending , recovery speed etc. He is the second most valuable player on the team. Blake has been the rock of this team. 1 of the best goalies in the league for years. He almost always keeps us in the game with preventing at least 1 goal a game sometimes 2 or 3. When both are healthy and on the field this team becomes dangerous without them they look like one of the weakest teams in the league.
Joe Bendik is no longer an MLS goalie…. and Curtin will role out the past instead of giving the future a shot?
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GIVE US ALL A BREAK… and Jim, remember Bedoya gets gassed at 60 and to wait later is just inexcusable… and were the midfieders high on legal weed in Cali? How many passes went right to the Galaxy players? A LOT!
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POOP not Doop.
So a missed opportunity in LA?
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Just like how many years of Jim being a players’ coach and motivation to win the big game seems non existent.
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“These guys are professionals…”
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BUT THEY STILL NEED DISIPLINE and MOTIVATION, two things Curtin lacks for years.
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Too bad USMNT had to reselect Berhalter. Curtin would have been perfect for those premadonma and an early exit in 2026.
Did the front office really look at this summer calendar with the Gold Cup, then look at Joe Bendik as the potential backup keeper as say, “We can let Freese go to NYC and we’ll be fine. Joe can mind the store until ‘Dre gets back!” Was that really their thought process? I’d like someone to ask Ernst that question, because that was shocking last night.
I would also like to see one statistic or justification that demonstrates how this team is better with Bedoya in the lineup. Maybe if we create xG! (Expected Gesticulations towards the referee per 90), it might improve us statically in some manner. It seems like the only formation that suits Ale’s rapidly declining skill set is the 4-4-2 that the whole league has figured out how to defend, with the expected results.
Bendiks performance aside it seems the front three have lost all ability to connect up front. Only fortunate rebounds inside the 18 work out, or crosses from the side. LA came out motivated – not so for the U. After hearing Puigs name ad nauseam with barely a mention of Gazdag after 30 mins I knew the “writing was on the wall” for the evening. With the lack of energy last night I’m not anticipating a good result against Nashville either.
I personally think International service should be at the discretion of the contract holder.
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Watching Jamaica win any matches at the expense of ANY TEAM is disgraceful. Blake and Lowe should have said NO… And supported the team that paid for a bar in Jamaica.
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This is a disgrace.
He is paid by the Union.
Period.
Joe Bendik could never make a save like that….78 minute.
HOW DARE BLAKE deny the needs of the Union.
Hey J Fav, I know you’re a football fan, and passionate about it too. The issue isn’t with the players who are going to play for their nation, it’s MLS playing during international breaks. The schedule is all about Garberbucks. I know you understand that playing for a national team is huge for most of the football world. If the Union had any Americans on the squad that were called up wouldn’t you want them to play for the USMNT!? Anyway I’m sure your just pissed at the situation and lackluster performance in LA. IM RIGHT WITH YA!
The amazing attacking trident showed up. Just not ours.
Been said before, but MLS is a shit league for playing through international break.
McGlynn needs to start.