Los Angeles Football Club supporters were treated to an eight-goal fireworks show Thursday night as the Black and Gold pulled off a thrilling 5-3 victory against rival Los Angeles Galaxy. LAFC’s victory against the Galaxy was rather historic, as it is the first time LAFC has defeated the Galaxy in their brief history.
“It was huge,” said LAFC midfielder Lee Nguyen of the win. “We showed today, [in the] big moment when it mattered most. Team came through the clutch and the guys did what needed to be done.”
With this win in the opening playoff round, LAFC now advances to the Western Conference Finals as they will take on the Seattle Sounders at home.
LAFC striker Carlos Vela scored two goals, with the first in the 16th minute and another in the 40th. LAFC forward Diego Rossi scored in the 66th. Famed Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a goal in the 55th minute and the other two Galaxy goals came from Galaxy forward Cristian Pavon and Galaxy defender Rolf Feltscher.
A notable story Thursday came from the return of LAFC striker Adama Diomande, who returned to action after voluntarily entering the MLS substance abuse program a couple of weeks back. In a monumental return, Diomande scored two goals with one in the 68th minute and the final goal in the 80th minute, ultimately ending the Galaxy’s season.
The crowd at Banc of California Stadium was electric in their support for Diomande. He was named “Man of the Match” after the victory.
LAFC head coach Bob Bradley expressed positivity for the team’s performance.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” said Bradley. “[They] scored some amazing goals. There has been amazing moments so far. To see our group really respond that point the way they did, that’s something special.”
The victory was impressive for LAFC as the Galaxy out-possessed the Black and Gold at 58%. With that the Galaxy were more efficient on passing as they passed 516 passes for 83% accuracy compared to LAFC’s 395 passes on 79%. LAFC edged the Galaxy out with goals on target, shooting seven to the Galaxy’s six.
Despite the hard-fought victory, Carlos Vela said in the post-game press conference that this really was only a stepping stone in ultimately winning MLS Cup.
“In the playoffs it’s not a matter of what team you are playing against,” said Vela. “We need to win two more games. We have to prepare our team to be ready, to be focused on our target and that’s the way we are working.”
The Black and Gold have done well against the Seattle Sounders this season. They defeated the Sounders 4-1 in their April 21 home match, then drew against them the next week 1-1 in Seattle.
The Western Conference Final between the Seattle Sounders and LAFC will take place Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Banc of California Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
The victor of this upcoming game will take on the winner of the Eastern Conference Final between the defending champions Atlanta United and Toronto FC. The final teams left standing will square off in the MLS Cup Final which is scheduled to take place on Nov. 2.
An LAFC win next Tuesday night would be advantageous, allowing LAFC to host the the MLS Cup Final at Banc of California Stadium.