Analysis: Minnesota United has reason to believe it matches up well with LA Galaxy

On the face of it, Minnesota United hasn’t been all that successful against the LA Galaxy, their MLS conference semifinal opponent, this season. The Loons drew with Galaxy at home, lost to a late goal on the road and so ended up with only one point in two games.

The two teams have two weeks to go until they meet in Carson, Calif., for a winner-take-all playoff game Nov. 23 or 24. But Loons coach Eric Ramsay isn’t headed back to the drawing board. “I feel like we’re a good matchup for them,” he said. “I don’t think it will be quite the David vs. Goliath match up that everyone will paint it as.”

Despite the results, and despite giving up two goals in both games to the Western Conference’s top-scoring team, there was a lot to like about Minnesota’s performances.

The Galaxy’s offensive strategy is reasonably straightforward. LA likes to play with three forwards, with Dejan Jovelić (15 goals) in the middle and Gabriel Pec (16) and Joseph Paintsil (10) on either side. Their offensive star, though, is central midfielder Riqui Puig, who orchestrates the whole attack.

Los Angeles is never happier than when Puig is on the ball in the center of the field, and the three forwards can turn and run, almost like football wide receivers looking to catch passes from a quarterback. The Galaxy and Puig led MLS in passes and dribbling the ball forward this season; no player in the league is more heavily responsible for his team’s offensive success.

It follows, then, that most of the team is thus focused on getting the ball to Puig, at the cost of most other attacking strategies. Los Angeles would much rather make eight short passes than one long one, or let Puig just carry the ball up the field.

The Loons, under Ramsay, have a setup that’s well placed to counter this. They play with three center backs, a natural fit for defending three forwards, and two defensive-minded central midfielders to track the Spanish maestro.

You could see this in the first half of the teams’ game at Allianz Field in May. The Galaxy ended the first 45 minutes with absolutely nothing on the board; not only did they not score, they attempted zero shots and won zero corners.

The Loons set up with Wil Trapp and Robin Lod as the midfielders, and a relatively narrow forward trio of Tani Oluwaseyi, Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Sang Bin Jeong — all fast, energetic and willing to defend. It meant Puig was getting harried both coming and going; if he pushed forward, Trapp and Lod were in his face, and if he dropped deeper, he had one of the forwards nipping at his ankles.

Of course, the Galaxy adjusted in the second half. Coach Greg Vanney has spent a lot of time tinkering with the two other spots in the midfield of his 4-3-3 setup, especially after German legend Marco Reus arrived midseason.

In the second half of that first game against the Loons, it was then-forward Diego Fagúndez who pushed up higher in the LA midfield, helping outnumber Minnesota in the center. It scrambled the defensive scheme, and Puig got two assists — once after a lost duel along the sideline gave him space, the other after a transition moment opened the entire center of the field.

“The two times we don’t locate Puig, he dribbles and he makes plays,” Trapp said after the game.

The second game between the teams, in early July, was also about the Galaxy sending an extra man forward. This time, the Loons defended in a 5-4-1, further clogging the center — so Los Angeles started pushing right back Miki Yamane into the attack, where he picked up an assist on the game’s first goal.

These countermoves do hint at the Galaxy’s weak spot, however. For all their offensive success, the three forwards and Puig basically don’t play defense. Send another player or two forward, and suddenly the Galaxy’s back line starts to look pretty exposed. No team in the league gave up more open-play shots this season, and no team gave up more goals from set pieces.

The Loons’ three goals vs. the Galaxy this year bear that out. Two came from corner kicks, and one from a transition moment in which Teemu Pukki ran with the ball for nearly 40 yards before finishing, without any defender getting near him.

The Loons proved in both games it’s possible to press the Galaxy, possible to control the game by spreading LA out and turning the ball over in the attacking half. But the more they press, the more space there is for Puig, and so it’s a constant choice — try to contain Puig, or try to go for goal?

With more than two weeks remaining to figure out a game plan, the Loons have the luxury of knowing their system matches up well with the Galaxy’s strengths. At times, they have completely nullified Los Angeles. But executing that system — deny space in the center, press successfully, win in transition — is easier said than done, especially when Los Angeles has so many attacking weapons at its disposal.