Chicharito Was Missed

Chicharito was missed during the opening game of the season for the LA Galaxy. The team’s offense was missing a key component during the loss against FC Dallas 3 to 1. Javier Hernandez announced during a live Twitch stream that he’s expected to miss 2 to 5 weeks.

Vanney started the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation with the off-the-bench chess master Dejan Joveljic leading the attack. The left and right wing midfielders, Efrain Alvarez and Memo Rodriguez, purpose was to use their speed to open the game. 

Instead, the midfield lost multiple balls that led to goals in the transition from offense to defense.

Joveljic’s goal in the 35th minute gave the Galaxy a lead. After his goal, his attacking disappeared and he never touched the ball in the box.

The team led the game with 13 shots on the goal, 6 of those shots landing on target. Riqui Puig took most of the 13 shots on the goal. He never once connected with Joveljic. He took control of the game from the get-goal. Instead of using Joveljic as a target, Puig spent the game being blocked by Maarten Paes, the FC Dallas goalkeeper.

Puig missed Chicharito.

Joveljic scored 9 goals off the bench last season. Twitter and the supporters called him the future of the franchise. His clutch moments gave the fans hope of a better future. After Hernandez’s injury during the preseason, Vanney gave Dejan the keys to drive the offense in the absence of Chicharito.

Instead, it became clear that his attacking needs to adapt to the starting position. 

His 35th minute goal came from a play started by Raheem Edwards on the left wing. In a change of direction, he passed the ball to Puig in the center of the field, who opened the field up to Alvarez. Kelvin Leerdam ran on the right wing into the box and Alvarez passed him the ball in the box.

Leerdam crossed the ball and Joveljic put his foot in front of the ball that bounced off the head of Paes and into the goal. He found himself in the right place at the right time. That was also his only touch in the box. 

Chicharito can’t heal any faster. 

Up next for the Galaxy is an away game against Sporting KC who’s yet to win. They opened the season losing 1-0 against Portland and tied 0-0 against Colorado in Week 2. Sporting KC will be playing their home opener against the Galaxy. 

Either Joveljic finds his groove as a starter, or the offense will find itself in trouble without Chicharito for the next 2 to 5 weeks. 

Last season, the Joveljic magic came with two forwards leading the attack. 

Joveljic needs the extra support upfront but at this point there’s no one that can help him out. The help that’s on its way is a defender. Vanney can go with a 4-1-2-3 with Memo Hernandez and Efrain Alvarez up front, Brugman and Puig controlling the midfield. 

It’s going to be a long 2-5 weeks if Vanney doesn’t add that extra help upfront. The chess master needs his pawns to protect him. 

But what do I know, my soccer team just lost the championship game 6 to 1.