Season Over: Colorado Rapids Killer Puig Runs Wild on Pids

COMMERCE CITY – The loudest metaphorical bell rang out in the 90th minute on Friday night at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park. Colorado Rapids hosted LA Galaxy in the second leg of the Best-of-Three series. Colorado needed to win to force a third game. The result was all too familiar.

It was a very different lineup from Chris Armas. Djordje Mihailović was back in the starting lineup but Cole Bassett was out. All three fullbacks Keegan Rosenberry, Sam Vines, and Reggie Cannon started in what was mostly a 3-4-3. Kévin Cabral started at right wing.

For the Galaxy, it was chalk. All three Killer Ps were in. Marco Reus was on the bench.

The first half was a wild ride. Gabriel Pec pressed a clearing ball that went towards the Rapids goal. Zack Steffen took his time and cleared the ball off Pec. The ball rolled towards goal and inside the far post to open the scoring.

Oli Larraz responded with a laser from 24 yards out in the 19th minute. Colorado had a good spell of possession. A cleared ball fell to Larraz in space in Zone 14. He took a touch to control and blasted the ball past goalkeeper John McCarthy to make it 1-1.

The teams traded chances, adjusting shape off of each other. The three-man Galaxy midfield was fluid. Colorado varied with three, four, and even five at the back at times with Rosenberry and Vines covering ground. Andreas Maxsø had a great header off a corner that went over the bar.

Galaxy would make it 2-1 before halftime. Joseph Paintsil cut inside on Rosenberry and put the ball off the far post and in.

Things tightened up in the second half. Galaxy had a defensive posture. Both teams were very fluid tactically. Colorado had a back three, four, and five at times. Galaxy moved players around in the midfield to cover gaps, Larraz, and Mihailović. One could tell Armas was trying to make something work when subs led to Cannon at center back and Calvin Harris at right wing back. This was arguably the most tactically different game of the year for the Rapids.

Navarro had a few half chances. Vines had a shot from the top of the box that McCarthy saved. Harris had a low cross that went through five players in the box. Colorado just couldn’t break down the low block. They weren’t threatening enough on set pieces.

The game got stretched as stoppage time approached with Colorado throwing caution to the wind. Once again, against the Galaxy, it would be their undoing. Darren Yapi fell down as LA win the ball at midfield. Several passes later, it was Riqui Puig in space in the box to beat Steffen.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Colorado had a corner. A clearing header and great pass from Pec, and Puig had a breakaway from the halfway line. He dribbled forward and beat Steffen again to make the final score 4-1.

Even with a bad ending, this season was a rousing success:

Yes, these two playoff games stunk. But this season was still a success. Winning the Rocky Mountain Cup for the first time since 2020. Exciting signings in the winter (yes, they didn’t do enough in the Secondary Transfer Window). That magical Leagues Cup run through four Liga MX teams. Qualifying for Conca Champions. Getting a home playoff game. My, how this club has raised its floor in the 13 months since the supporter protest.

“I’m excited about the experiences we had this year. Hopefully we can draw on them forward. Part of our goal at the start of the year was to win the fanbase back. I think we did that. Rocky Mountain Cup. Leagues Cup 3rd Place. We took a big step forward this year as a club. That’s the only thing you can say. That we should all be proud of,” Rosenberry said.

Riqui Puig: Rapids Killer

The Galaxy were a bad matchup for Colorado, especially with the injuries. Their winger play is superior. While a fully healthy Rapids midfield presents an interesting contest, Riqui Puig is the best midfielder in the league. In four games (two regular season, two playoff), he has seven goals and an assist. LA outscored them 9-1 in these two games and 15-4 across the series. Puig played all four games. Mihailović just two, Bassett just one.

“We had more control this game. We disrupted a lot of what they’re trying to do. We’re 2-1 in stoppage time, knowing one goal gets us into an interesting position. The nature of the goals, right before halftime. The first one’s a strange one. We fell short.” Armas said.

This series ultimately came down to the Rapids needed to create offense by committing resources up field, them being unable to generate chances, and LA turning them over and ripping them apart in transition. Puig was at the center of that, at the end when Colorado went all in on the attack.

The better and healthier team with the best player won. So goes the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Changing things up:

Give Chris Armas and the coaching staff credit. They didn’t just run out the same lineup and game plan and hoped it would work great better. The (mostly) back three gave Colorado defensive cover while allowing them to stick to their attacking principles. Cannon and Rosenberry did well in slightly different roles. This was the most balanced of the four games against LA this year. They just didn’t have it in the final third. The counter attack was inevitable.

“We had played the Galaxy three games. It was 11-3 overall. 3-4-3, we knew we could control transition more. It worked. I didn’t want to sit here saying ‘well we did the same thing in the last three games.’ It was my responsibility to find a solution. We fell a little short. It’s an interesting formation for us moving forward,” Armas said.

Mihailović surely was playing through pain. He confirmed postgame he’s delayed an MRI to be able to get back in the squad for this game. Colorado’s pressing is good at making great possession teams uncomfortable. It doesn’t lead to clean turnovers and attacking opportunities like it does against non-playoff teams. They were not threatening enough on set pieces either.

The changes made it better, but it wasn’t good enough.

Colorado Rapids’ ceiling:

This result is just more evidence that money matters when it comes to MLS Cup. Yes, Colorado raised its floor. But they haven’t advanced in the MLS Cup Playoffs since 2016. The Leagues Cup run was a great test, against unfamiliar opponents. It remains to be seen if a budget team can win MLS Cup in this era. It remains to be seen if the Rapids can challenge MLS teams that are familiar with them and are more talented on paper.

“First time in my career I’ve been involved in six losses in a row. We’ll look back at the last two months. What changed mentally? We have to have the same mindset going into those final games of the season knowing that form will take us into playoffs,” Mihalović said.

“We end the season in poor form. There was so much effort that went in trying to improve those last few games. It just didn’t happen for us. It’s a good learning experience. We’ll be ready for it next year. That’s the goal,” Larraz said.

Hopefully Josh Kroenke realized that in person and provides further financial support.

Photo Credit: John Babiak

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