The World Cup isn’t over, yet. However, 28 of the 32 teams were eliminated as of this weekend, as the majority of the players that made the trip to Russia boarded their planes home.
For several MLS clubs – including LAFC and Orlando City SC, who played out to a 4-1 LAFC victory Saturday night – that marks the return of star players that were missing in the past few weeks.
For Orlando City, this meant the return of the impactful Peruvian midfielder, Yoshimar Yotún.
Since leaving for Russia, Yotún has seen his team drop rapidly from a playoff spot, and lost head coach Jason Kreis, picking up Bobby Murphy from Louisville City in his stead. Orlando was 0-0-7 in the time when Yotún was missing, and conceded 21 goals while only scoring four times.
The 28-year central midfielder is the type of player where it is hard to quantify what makes him so impactful, but it was evident that Orlando was hurting in his absence.
LAFC, on the other hand, missed two starters to the World Cup, both strikers that do their best work in and around the box.
It would seem like the tale should be the same for LAFC as it was for Orlando – goals would go wanting and the team would suffer as a result. Star attacker Carlos Vela and hard-working striker Marcos Urena left a big gap in the team’s attack after leaving for the World Cup.
That gap, however, isn’t as big as one might think for the Black and Gold.
LAFC announced the signing of big striker Adama Diomande just before the end of the transfer window on May 1 to add depth to the squad.
Diomande only began to see time after Ureña and Vela left, starting his first game for LAFC on June 9. Since then, he’s scored eight goals in five games and has effectively replaced Marcos Ureña, who has yet to score for LAFC in seven games, as first choice striker.
Another late acquisition, Lee Nguyen filled a creative role left by Vela. He also signed on deadline day from the New England Revolution, costing LAFC $750,000 in an equal split of Targeted Allocation Money and General Allocation Money, with bonuses potentially netting the Revolution up to $950,000.
Both Diomande and Nguyen have seamlessly melded into the LAFC attack. In the games where both players start, LAFC has netted 16 goals in five games and has looked stronger than ever.
“We have a deeper team and that means more competition,” LAFC head coach Bob Bradley said in the post-match press conference. “It means at times when [I] need to make important subs in the game we have very good guys to bring on.”
The 64th minute marked the introduction of those “very good guys”, Diego Rossi and Carlos Vela, to the delight of the LAFC crow.
For the first time, the fans had the chance to see a front six of Diomande, Vela, Rossi, Blessing, Nguyen, and Feilhaber. But was it really a better line up than what LAFC started with?
In the 26 minutes when this frightening attack was on the field, LAFC scored two goals – both in the last 10 minutes of the match – and saw a potential Orlando equalizer called back thanks to VAR.
“We still have the tendency when things go well to get caught up in the moment,” Bradley said. “At times, we were a little bit careless or made little mistakes.”
Bradley acknowledged that his line-up that started the match was more creative and realiable than the superstar squad that ended the match.
“I’m not going to start celebrating all the great things that happened when those guys (Rossi, Ureña, and Vela) came on the field,” Bradley said. “Because like I said before, I think the first half was better.”
The scary thing is, LAFC hasn’t even assembled its full roster yet. Andre Horta was announced as a new arrival but hasn’t officially signed. He is expected to be fully integrated in the squad once the MLS summer transfer window opens.
This new line-up means some impactful players would make way to the bench.
Mark-Anthony Kaye tallied three shots against Orlando, and created three scoring opportunities as well. He assisted the first goal and set up the assist for the second. It would be tough to justify Kaye remaining in the line-up ahead of star man Carlos Vela. If Vela starts wide, does Kaye start ahead of Horta, Feilhaber, and Nguyen?
“Mark’s grown on the job,” Bradley said of Kaye. “At times his first touch could be better but the kid keeps getting better. He understands when I’m yelling and screaming at him what I’m trying to get at.”
Meanwhile does Latif Blessing retain a starting spot? His six shots against Orlando was the most of any player, he also scored the second goal and assisted the third, creating three chances along the way. Since the World Cup started, he has three goals and four assists in five games.
Should Bob Bradley want to opt for a line up featuring the biggest names, and salaries, Blessing, Urena and Kaye could head to the bench. Though Horta, Rossi, and Vela are players with the ability to create and score goals, they will have a tough challenge to produce goals at the same rate as their replacements.
This full-strength LAFC line up should have no problems taking control of the Western Conference. The biggest issues facing the team now is whether these stars can mesh fully, and if the team will be balanced enough on defense.
“If you want to be a team that attacks and that presses, you are going to challenge your defenders,” Bradley said. “You have to be able to play with space behind you, you have to push up the field. It’s a lot more difficult to be a central defender to play the way we do than to play with a team that drops off.”
Bob Bradley already has his fullbacks push far up the field. If his midfield is going to consist of Feilhaber and Nguyen – two former attacking midfielders adapted to fit the position – then this team could get exposed on defense, especially during counter attacks.
The biggest concern for Bradley will be the nine goals LAFC conceded in six-games since the start of World Cup camps. It shouldn’t matter, however, if LAFC continues to score at this rate (averaging 2.83 goals per game in that stretch.) It doesn’t seem possible, but that rate could even increase with Vela and Horta entering the squad.
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