April 10, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – LA Galaxy News Release
LOS ANGELES – Playing in front of a sold out crowd of 25,174 fans at Dignity Health Sports Park, the LA Galaxy earned a 2-1 win over LAFC in the 13th regular-season edition of El Tráfico on Saturday night. Javier “Chicharito” Hernández tallied his fifth goal of the 2022 campaign, while Séga Coulibaly scored the game-winning goal in the win over LAFC.
LA Galaxy Against LAFC
Saturday’s match marked the 13th MLS regular-season meeting between the two teams, with the LA Galaxy leading the series 6-2-5. The Galaxy are unbeaten in four consecutive matches (2-0-2) against LAFC dating back to May 8, 2021. In seven regular-season meetings between the two sides at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy hold an unbeaten record of 5-0-2. In three career games played against LAFC, Javier “Chicharito” Hernández has registered two goals and two assists. In six matches managed against LAFC, LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney holds a 2-1-3 record. LA has scored multiple goals 10 times against LAFC in the 13 matches played between the two clubs. When LA scores the first goal in matches played against LAFC, the Galaxy hold a 4-1-0 record.
Chicharito In Goal-Scoring Form
After tallying the opening goal in the win over LAFC, Chicharito is tied for the league-lead with five goals in six games played during the 2022 campaign. Notably, Chicharito has tallied nine goals in his last nine regular-season matches played, dating back to Oct. 23, 2021. In his last 13 games played at Dignity Health Sports Park dating back to April 25, 2021, Chicharito has tallied 12 goals and two assists.
Assisting In the Win
Samuel Grandsir registered two assists in the win against LAFC, bringing his season tally to three assists during the 2022 season. The two assists against LAFC marked Grandsir’s first multi-assist performance in MLS for the Galaxy. Edwards registered an assist in his second consecutive match dating back to April 3. Edwards’ five assists during the 2022 campaign ranks first in MLS amongst all players. Additionally, Víctor Vázquez notched his first assist of the season.
Goal-Scoring Plays
LA – Javier “Chicharito” Hernández (Samuel Grandsir, Víctor Vázquez), 14th minute: Víctor Vázquez’s pass on the left wing found Samuel Grandsir isolated with an LAFC defender. Grandsir’s looping cross inside the six-yard box found the head of Chicharito, who rose quickly to nod his header past LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
LA – Séga Coulibaly (Samuel Grandsir, Raheem Edwards), 31st minute: Raheem Edwards dropped in a pass just inside the 18-yard box to Grandsir. The Frenchman chested the ball down and quickly delivered a low pass to the back post that Coulibaly finished from close range.
LAFC – Cristian Arango, 79th minute: After Jonathan Bond initially saved Carlos Vela’s shot from inside the box, Cristian Arango was first to the rebound and placed his shot into the back of the net.
Postgame Notes
Saturday’s match marked the 13th regular-season edition of El Tráfico between the two teams, with the LA Galaxy leading the series 6-2-5.
In seven regular-season meetings between the two sides at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy improved their unbeaten record to 5-0-2.
The Galaxy are unbeaten in four consecutive matches (2-0-2) against LAFC dating back to May 8, 2021.
When LA scores the first goal in matches played against LAFC, the Galaxy hold a 4-1-0 record.
The Galaxy have scored multiple goals 10 times in 13 regular-season matches played against LAFC.
In 13 matches played between the Galaxy and LAFC, the two teams have combined for 53 goals scored.
In six matches managed against LAFC, LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney holds a 2-1-3 record.
The Galaxy dealt LAFC their first loss of the 2022 season.
Samuel Grandsir tallied two assists in the win over LAFC, marking the first time in his Galaxy career he has registered multiple assists in a single match.
Grandsir ranks tied for second in MLS with three assists during the 2022 season.
Grandsir has played in 40 consecutive matches for the Galaxy dating back to April 18, 2021.
Raheem Edwards notched his league-leading fifth assist of the season in the win over LAFC.
Séga Coulibaly tallied his first career goal as a member of the Galaxy.
Víctor Vázquez notched his first assist of the 2022 campaign.
Jonathan Bond tallied six saves in the win over LAFC.
Sacha Kljestan made his 50th regular-season appearance for the Galaxy in the win against LAFC.
Saturday’s match marked the third consecutive sell-out at Dignity Health Sports Park to begin the 2022 MLS Regular Season.
Next Game
Next up, the Galaxy travel to face Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field on Saturday, April 16. The April 16 match kicks off at 5:00 p.m. PT and will feature a local television broadcast.
LA Galaxy (4-2-0, 12pts) vs. LAFC (4-1-1, 13pts)
April 9, 2022 – Dignity Health Sports Park (Los Angeles)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
LA Galaxy 2 0 2
LAFC 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
LA: Chicharito (Grandsir, Vázquez), 9
LA: Coulibaly (Grandsir, Edwards), 31
LAFC: Arango, 79
Misconduct Summary:
LA: Araujo (caution), 37
LAFC: Hollingshead (caution), 49
LA: Coulibaly (caution), 63
LA: Williams (caution), 71
LA: Leerdam (caution), 86
LA: Álvarez (caution), 89
LA: Chicharito (caution), 90+2
LAFC: Murillo (caution), 90+4
LAFC: Arango (caution), 90+10
Lineups:
LA: GK Jonathan Bond; D Julián Araujo (Sacha Kljestan, 59), D Séga Coulibaly, D Derrick Williams (Nick DePuy, 76), D Raheem Edwards; M Kelvin Leerdam, M Rayan Raveloson, M Víctor Vázquez (Kévin Cabral, 67); M Efraín Álvarez, M Samuel Grandsir (Douglas Costa, 60); F Javier “Chicharito” Hernández © (Dejan Joveljić, 77)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Jonathan Klinsmann; D Eriq Zavaleta; M Daniel Aguirre, M Jonathan Pérez
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Chicharito, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Séga Coulibaly, Chicharito, 1); FOULS: 17 (Raheem Edwards, 3) OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 6
LAFC: GK Maxime Crepeau; D Jesus Murillo, D Mamadou Fall, D Diego Palacios, D Ryan Hollingshead; M Ilie Sanchez, M Jose Cifuentes (Latif Blessing, 67), M Kellyn Acosta; F Carlos Vela ©, F Brian Rodriguez (Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, 11), F Kwadwo Opoku (Cristian Arango, 66)
Substitutes Not Used: GK John McCarthy; D Doneil Henry, D Sebastien Ibeagha; M Francisco Ginella; F Danny Musovski
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Carlos Vela, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Kellyn Acosta, Jose Cifuentes, 2); FOULS: 12 (Kwadwo Opoku, 3) OFFSIDES: 9; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 0
Referee: Chris Penso
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson, Logan Brown
Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
Weather: Sunny, 77 degrees
Attendance: 25,174
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
LA GALAXY POSTGAME QUOTES
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH GREG VANNEY
On what it is about the rivalry games that is so chaotic:
“They’re derby matches and both teams want to impose themselves on the other. And, I thought we did so early in the game. The second half with the first half, I thought we were a little passive, and we were inviting them on top of us. We were rushing the final pass. We weren’t keeping possession. We weren’t putting anything that looked like what we do on the field, and force them to have to defend us. It felt like the game was too much in the vision of how they want to see the game. So, at halftime, for us, it was a push to try and get the third goal before they could get a first goal and try and take that momentum – whatever that momentum would look like – away from them. We had a couple go’s at it, and we didn’t. But I felt like as we started to make adjustments and moves and guys, we started to try to rebuild some pieces. We were never able to really get a hold or a balance of the game back to ourselves… it became defending and how can we hurt them on the counterattack. And, like I said, we had a chance or two to do so, and we didn’t. But, we certainly endured and did other things in front of the goal for the stretch of it. But, nobody wants to give an inch in these games, and that’s a big part of it.”
On Raheem Edwards:
“First and foremost before anything else when it comes to Raheem Edwards. He competes. Period. He competes. He competes. He competes. And, that is what drives Raheem. Outside of that, he’s a good soccer player. He’s courageous. He doesn’t back down from anything. And, he takes, sometimes risk, and you deal with that, but he does it in a way that has loads of courage behind it. And, sometimes, he’s able to create incredible things, and he’s learning and continuing to get better on the defensive side. He had some tough match ups today. Having to deal with Carlos [Vela] for large stretches of the game. And he did so. He’s wirey. He’s rangey. He’s got a lot of positive qualities, but, again, I mean, the one thing I will always say about Raheem and the reason he’s here, is he’s a competitor. And big games and tough games, he’s a guy you want on your team. And he was that today.”
On Sam Grandsir:
“Sam [Grandsir] is working hard. The only thing that I’ve only ever wanted from Sam is just consistency. And, that goes with his work on the defending side. Work on the attacking side. Position discipline a little bit So, he has been giving us that, and he’s impacting the game. And, when you can do those things, you’re going to be on the field and helping your team get results. So, I thought Sam put a great shift in for 60 minutes, and he gave us something to help us make a difference in the game. And, he did last week, too, to be fair.”
On what kind of growth he has seen in the group these last few weeks:
“I think, you know, when you play these games, Portland, not an easy place to play, earlier in the year, Seattle, not an easy place. We’ve gone through kind of all of that. No matter where you play, the game against LAFC is going to be a difficult game no matter what because there’s emotion in it. And fans bring emotion. And, there’s a lot that goes into these games. I think, you know, today wasn’t so much about the performance of soccer, but today was about working through the game and managing the game. Taking advantage of our chances, especially getting the lead early on and competing. That was important about today. Again, a little bit of a makeshift midfield. We didn’t have Marky [Delgado] obviously because of the red card, and we haven’t had Sacha [Kljestan] really because he’s been out the last nine, 10 days. So, we were… we went all the way down to bringing Kelvin [Leerdam] into defensive midfield, which, he hasn’t done a whole lot of, but I thought he did a nice, solid job. About as good as we could ask him to do. I’m proud of him. But, in a very difficult game, against a good team, we had to find a way to try to play soccer and do what we do, and get a result, and the guys did a great job. That’s character. There’s obviously quality in those things. Javi [Hernández] scoring another goal, which is wonderful for him, keeping that rhythm and that feeling going. There’s a lot of positive things that come out of it. This group is learning how to win, and learning how to win big games, and learning how to win in tough environments. And, are things that we want to keep doing for the course of this season. The last two weeks have been that for sure.”
On the mentality in the locker room and going forward after a win like this:
“In the short, guys are obviously happy. It’s three points. It’s early in the season, but it’s also, like you said, there’s an emotional part of this that is great for our group. And, so, I think the challenges that have been in front of us in different ways and we’ve responded, and, coming back home, in front of our fans, winning a game like this is obviously really important. There’s always an inner Los Angeles battle between the two of us, where we’re trying to not just set our presence in MLS but also just in our city. And, for us, the Galaxy, is to get back on top and to be the premier club. And, that’s what I said to the guys after, that these are games we have to win and not just because it’s LAFC, that’s one part of it. Because they’re big, difficult, tough matches. There’s a lot of attention, they feel bigger, they’re emotional, and that’s what you have to do when you want to win trophies. You have to win these games and you’ve got to do them, sometimes, whatever it takes, you’ve got to do it. Today was one of those, and I think they can take the pride of doing it and try and continue to build on that momentum that they got out of this win.”
On Derrick Williams:
“I don’t think there was anything related to the previous injury, or any new injuries to it. I think it was… I don’t know if it was light headedness, I got the message from the sideline that he felt like he was going to pass out. I don’t know what exactly came around, some of that stuff, so I don’t really know, but it got to a point where he obviously couldn’t continue, and we had to make the adjustment. His coming back has been important for us. Again, he’s one of our most experienced centerbacks. Our most experienced. Zav [Eriq Zavaleta] hasn’t gone yet, we’re going to try to get him into the mix as we get going. He’s our most experienced centerback. He’s comfortable on the ball. He’s confident. He’s a leader. And he’s got some physical presence in there, and he competes. Wins his duals. So, having him back brings some confidence to our back line and some stability. I think it’s important he and all the guys, because he hasn’t had many games with the guys this year, to just get some continuity in there and get their connection together there, but I think he’s competed well in the last two games. And, hopefully he continues to build confidence on top of that and keeps growing in the role with his partnership with whoever is next to him. Sega [Coulibaly] tonight was the guy.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD JAVIER “CHICHARITO” HERNÁNDEZ
On the craziness of the match against LAFC:
“We got the three points. They had chances and two were offside [the goal from Carlos Vela and the one from Latif Blessing at the end]. We knew it was going to be like that. They’re a very aggressive and offensive team and we’re playing the Tráfico. I think we should have scored the third goal and been a little bit more ruthless, but we’ll take the three points. It’s El Tráfico. A win is a win. To get the three points in our stadium with our fans. LA Galaxy and Los Angeles are gold, blue and white.”
On what he’s seen from Samuel Grandsir:
“I’ve been talking a lot personally with him because sometimes you’re on the bench and sometimes you need to wait for your opportunities and it’s complicated because you’re not in rhythm I think Sam is a clear example and also Sacha [Kljestan] that this team is in a correct and committed mindset. We want to give everything. If it’s one minute or if it’s 90, or the guys playing more. We want to make them feel that they have the same value as us. This is a team sport. We’re going to win together, draw together and we’re going to lose together. They’re just as important as me and Bondy [Jonathan Bond] with two positions… They’re valued assets because they train so hard and they make us better players. They’re waiting for their opportunity like Sam, who did amazing.”
On pulling out a win tonight:
“I want to be completely honest. We know we cannot take out how the game ended. But we deserved the win. We get the three points. I want that to be the narrative. I don’t want to take out the credit of this win because it was a VAR decision, and that kind of stuff. Offside is offside. They decided, and they decided. There have been so many goals that they don’t give me that they weren’t offsides, and the opposite. I scored a few goals that they were offsides. And right now, that’s the good thing about the VAR. It’s more fair. We take the three points, LA Galaxy deserved them. We played way better; we could have been more ruthless. The result was that we got the three points.”
On the last few minutes and what the emotions were like:
“The emotions were like that, they scored, they draw, and then they change it. It’s the same as them, they were celebrating and then got disappointed. We were disappointed and then we were celebrating. That’s how it is. I think that’s the only negative kind of thing of the VAR in those situations. But for me, it’s the most fair thing. Because, honestly, if I am in an offside position and I score a last-minute goal that is offsides, It’s not going to be fair. Sometimes they give you some situations in your favor. Sometimes they take them out and yeah, it’s part of the game. We need to deal with them and sometimes it goes in your favor and sometimes against you.”
On the heightened emotions of this match and what it means:
“Of course. It’s a derby man. We are fighting for the [pride] of the city. And we got it.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER RAHEEM EDWARDS
On Greg Vanney’s comment saying he’s a competitor, and what it means to him:
“I guess it means, you know, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to put our team at advantage. I’m ready to bring it whenever, whatever the time is needed. As you said, I’m a competitor, I want to win, I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll try to do whatever it takes to win. I think that’s what he meant. It’s also mentality thing as well.”
On five assists in six games, with his season high being six in 2017 and what’s different and what’s clicking:
“I think that year 2017, if I recall, I was playing a lot at the beginning of the season, and after – that was my rookie year as well – towards the ending of the season, I kind of died down. You know, you’re like rookie. You know when you’re rookie, sometimes you lose your ability to play and what not, you lose, whatever, your steps. So I think, me more playing more, being more consistent in my minutes, also helps me with my assist. So, I think it’s just more minutes, more playing.”
On what it says about the entire team showing their maximum effort on the pitch today:
“Yes, you know, it just shows the commitment from us and within a team. This this team right here, we were ready to work for each other. No matter who the guy is, no matter what fingers are being pointed, we’re ready to work for each other. It goes to show how together we are as a team. So, yeah, we’re ready to put in the shift, whether it’s me, whether it’s [Sam] Grandsir, whether it’s [Julian] Araujo, or anyone. We’re ready to put in a shift, we’re ready to work and try to fight for the three points.”
On his thoughts when the referee walked over to the screen on the VAR call:
“Yeah, I knew it was offside. I completely knew it was offside from the minute the ball went in. I knew that my guy fall, the one that shot the ball, was offside. Because he was a little bit in front of me, so when he got the ball, I thought to my head, quickly, you know, maybe he’s offside. I believe he’s offside. So, I was just looking behind me to see if anyone on my team was, you know, further back than me, but I didn’t think so. So, when that ball went in one of the net, I kind of thought that VAR would kind of overturn it. And, luckily, they did.”
On the amount of faith he has in the VAR system:
“Hey you have to. Sometimes you have faith in it. Sometimes you have no faith in it. That’s the game of football.”
On how El Trafico has been for him, as he has been on both sides of the competition and in insane games:
“Electric, man. These games are electric. These games are so high intensity. The last 15 minutes I was dead. Dead, man. These games are so high intensity. And, there’s always drama. Whether you wanted or not, there’s always going to be drama. This is the type of game this game brings. You know, the derby as you know, MLS markets it as the biggest derby in the league, and everyone’s eyes are on it. Not even just in North America. In Europe as well. But, yeah, the game was electric. The past three games that I played, is it’s always been electric. You always have to be ready. You always have to have the full commitment.”
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