Rapids Galaxy Preview: Five Questions With Robert Jalon, La Cuna Galaxiana

PREVIEW – The Colorado Rapids head to Los Angeles Galaxy tomorrow night, 8:30 p.m. MT. It’s their final road game before the break for Leagues Cup and the MLS All-Star Game. Burgundy Wave asked Robert Jalon five questions to see what’s going on with the Gs. Follow Rob on Twitter @ElEscuderoDeLA. Check out his podcast La Cuna Galaxiana and his writing at Last Word on Sports.

Like other teams at the top of the West this weekend, the LA Galaxy dropped points. What went wrong in that 2-0 defeat at FC Dallas? What needs to be better come Wednesday night?

It’s a two-parter here. First, what needs to be better? Energy. LA simply didn’t have it against Dallas. And part of that is purely down to the conditions, which reached 92 degrees on match day. Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney said it felt like watching the team play “a little bit of underwater soccer sometimes just with the humidity and the heat.” The weather forced Mark Delgado off at the half and forced the substitution of Maya Yoshida, who had played every minute for the Galaxy up to that point. Vanney added that when LA won the ball, “we were resting instead of trying to punish at that moment.” It’s always going to be hard to be successful when you’re spending so much energy on just winning the ball back.

Secondly, Dejan Joveljic continues to be a huge miss for LA. It’s no coincidence that three of LA’s losses have come when he’s been unavailable. The runs Joveljic makes, create space for teammates to exploit. The Galaxy have no replacement for him and it shows in decreased offense.

Riqui Puig missed a few games in June then came back. I’ve seen some chatter about Diego Fagundez’s role. How’s the Gs midfield looking? What are they good at? What are they bad at?

The G’s midfield is among the best in MLS when fully fit and firing. Gaston Brugman’s absence has forced Edwin Cerrillo to step into a more prominent role and he has done admirably in Brugman’s absence. His energy is vital to controlling possession, and his calmness on the ball makes you question if he’s really so young. Mark Delgado continues to be criminally underrated, and is perhaps the embodiment of Vanney’s “system.”

Riqui Puig is obviously one of the best players in MLS. The problem is with Puig’s unique skill set.

Vanney has spoken about balance several times this year, and how the team plays better when it is “predictable.” Predictable not to the opponent, but to each other; knowing where everyone should be and the moment they should be there. Riqui plays in such a way that teammates are not always on his speed, and so it stretches the team and forces players to leave their positions. When Diego Fagundez has started in Puig’s absence, the team has looked more balanced as Fagundez allows those players to play to their strengths by being “predictable” for each other. 

Vanney needs to figure this puzzle out.

This will be Colorado’s first game against the offense that was rebuilt this winter. Greg Vanney loves his wingers. What do Rapids fans need to know about Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil? 

These two players have switched realities of late. At the beginning of the season, Joseph Paintsil took MLS by storm with his speed and a couple of well taken goals and classy assists. Since then, Painstil’s injury plus the accumulation of games (Painstil came directly after his European season after his transfer) has caught up with him. His form has dropped and he’s missed more than a couple big chances. The quality is there, but perhaps he could use a break. 

Gabriel Pec arrived as the Galaxy’s most expensive all-time transfer and took a few games to bed in. He didn’t have the benefit of a preseason with his teammates and there was an obvious acclimation period for him. Now that he’s settled, however, he’s been the Galaxy’s main offensive threat. His pace, trickery, and nose for goal have kept the Galaxy above water during this period where they’ve had a few key players out. If he gets in behind the Colorado defense, good luck catching him.

Extra Time keeps saying the Galaxy are paper tigers because of the defense. This team is more likely to beat itself than the Ohio teams, your noisy neighbors, etc. Any truth to this? What’s Colorado got to do well to score goals?

The defense has been this team’s achilles heel since last season when they shipped 67 goals. While they’ve improved dramatically, there are still signs that the defense needs work. The Galaxy just don’t do well on set pieces. They’ve conceded at least eight goals off set pieces or second attempts off a set piece this season. So, if the Rapids need a goal, the place to look is on a free kick or a corner. 

The other place where the Galaxy defense has struggled has been transition defense. If a team is driving down the middle of the pitch and the Galaxy defense is back pedaling, then you’ve got them exactly where you want them. Teams that have been successful against LA have used this to great effect.

Lastly, got a prediction for us? 

A hard fought 3-2 win for the Los Angeles Galaxy. 

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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