Philadelphia Union came up on the wrong end in a late night clash, falling to the LA Galaxy by a 3-1 margin on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
In the city of stars, the Galaxy tested the Union early with Riqui Puig showed early on that he’d be heavily involved in the contest. In the fourth minute, Puig opted to go for the long range shot from 20 yards out but Union goalkeeper Joe Bendik parried it away.
Seconds later Puig contributed another big moment, drawing a foul against Jose Martinez who quickly found himself in the referee’s book with a yellow card after a single challenge. With the Union’s star defensive midfielder on the referee’s mind, the Galaxy continued to target the middle of the pitch with a counter attack. Galaxy captain Gaston Brugman set up the half chance as he unleashed a blast from outside the box that forward Preston Judd tried to redirect into the net but saw his effort go over the crossbar.
After the Union nearly turned a mistake in the back into a goal on one end of the pitch, the Galaxy broke open the scoreline on their next possession. With their Spanish superstar on the ball, Puig took a long pass and cut inside when he got to past the center stripe. As he battled MLS All-Star teammate Jose Martinez, he found an inch of space to hit a pass on the right flank for Mark Delgado. With numbers in the box, Delgado hit a low cross into the area for Tyler Boyd to sneak under goalkeeper Joe Bendik for the 1-0 lead.
The match seemed to change momentum in the 29th minute when center back Jack Elliott produced a huge sliding tackle to stop a Galaxy scoring chance. Again with Puig on the ball, the midfielder intercepted a Union pass and pushed forward for a 3v2 counter attack. A pass to Douglas Costa put the Union in a tricky situation but Elliott timed his sliding effort perfectly to deny a chance from Judd right at the edge of the Union’s 18.
In the 34th minute the Union’s offense started to kick into gear as Daniel Gazdag drifted deeper into the midfield to get on the ball. With the Galaxy defense stepping with him, he flicked a pass over the top for Carranza for a tough angled chance across the front of goal that curled wide.
Less than a minute later Philly broke through with a blocked shot ending up in the back of the net. MLS All-Star Jakob Glesnes took a pass from Martinez and pushed forward with the space vacated by Puig. Unafraid to have a long-range shot in Los Angeles, the Norwegian blasted a right-footed shot from 23 yards out that was blocked inside the box. The rebound went directly to Mikael Uhre, who one-timed it with an inside-out shot with his right to tie it up at 1-1.
The first half had more action before the whistle came with both sides getting an offensive chance from center backs. In the 41st minute the Union earned a free kick chance after Carranza was fouled by Brugman. Union captain Bedoya took advantage with a dangerous cross to the back post that Elliott won but sent it over the crossbar.
The Galaxy regained the lead on their final chance of the half with a set piece finding the back of the net in stoppage time. Douglas Costa provided the service from the corner flag, ripping a cross into a crowded area in front of the Union net. Aiming for center back Chris Mavinga, the ball bounced off Oliver Mbaizo as he battled the former Toronto FC defender and snuck in for the 2-1 lead.
Out of the locker room both sides knew the importance of the next goal and generated half chances early. For the Union it was again Glesnes pushed high up the pitch where the defender faked a shot and sent Carranza alone into the box but the forward’s shot went off the mark. Moments later it was again Puig on the flank as he hit a cross to the post that was just out of reach of a sliding Judd.
After the early chances, Los Angeles settled into their preferred style of long stretches of possession to stifle the Union’s attack and made sure to get numbers back when they did lose the ball. With numbers focused on the middle of the park, the flanks became vital for the Boys in Blue in the attack.
Mbaizo had a go in the 68th minute with a blast from 25 yards out that couldn’t sneak through the crowd. A pair of yellow cards issued to the hosts presented the chance for the Union to push numbers forward for a tying goal but couldn’t break through.
A turnover and quick counter put the match squarely away for the home side in the 76th minute with Puig again playing the role of spoiler for Union fans. After the former Barcelona midfielder poke the ball free from Martinez, he went on a the counter and picked out a pass for substitute target man Dejan Joveljic. With the Boys in Blue in retreat, Puig unleashed a golazo into the upper 90 from outside the box to make it 3-1.
Philadelphia Union has little time to reflect on the contest as they wrap up their three-game road trip with a midweek clash at Nashville SC. Kick off from the Music City is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 12th. Fans can catch the action with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
