In a rivalry known for its own kind of fireworks, Los Angeles FC will visit the Los Angeles Galaxy on Tuesday to play in front of a Fourth of July sellout crowd at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
More than 80,000 people are expected to pack the stadium to watch the latest edition of the “El Trafico” derby — the 20th in the series. The match was supposed to be the season opener for both clubs in February but was rescheduled because of rain and flooding concerns.
This is the second of three all-L.A. matchups in the regular season. LAFC earned a 3-2 road win on April 16 and will host the Galaxy on Sept. 16. The Galaxy posted a 2-0 victory in a U.S. Open Cup game in May, but LAFC was not playing with its top squad.
Tuesday’s match will be a homecoming for the Galaxy, who started their MLS tenure in the Rose Bowl and played in the iconic venue from 1996-2002. Both teams will be trying to get back on track.
LAFC (9-5-5, 32 points) have twice as many points as the Galaxy (3-9-7, 16 points), yet they have recently struggled to put the ball in the net. LAFC failed to score in four of their past seven matches, resulting in a 2-4-1 record.
Saturday’s 2-0 shutout loss at FC Dallas saw LAFC hold 62.6 percent of the possession, and they outshot Dallas by a 15-7 margin (3-2 in shots on target). They just couldn’t translate the pressure into goals.
“We just weren’t clinical enough finishing, and we then let them sneak a couple of goals there,” LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said. “When you let teams like that hang around for too long, mistakes can happen, things can happen.”
Despite a seemingly positive five-match (1-0-4) unbeaten streak, the Galaxy have faced a different kind of frustration of late. The Galaxy have tied each of their past four matches, surrendering leads in two of those contests.
In Saturday’s 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes in front of a large crowd at Stanford Stadium, the Galaxy twice held the lead before allowing San Jose to equalize.
“I think that we are close to playing good soccer for 90 minutes, but we are missing small details that are important to be able to close out games and take three points home,” Galaxy forward Douglas Costa said. “We haven’t been able to take home the points we deserve.”
The Galaxy own an 8-6-5 advantage all-time against Los Angeles FC across all competitions.
–Field Level Media