CARSON, Calif. -- The LA Galaxy responded to weeks of dismal, at times downright awful soccer, with their most spirited performance in months -- maybe all season -- but nonetheless saw their winless streak hit five games in a 1-1 draw in Friday's El Trafico derby finale with visiting LAFC.
The Galaxy played with uncommon energy and commitment for the first half-hour, took an early lead on Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 16th goal of the campaign, and settled for a draw following a second-half penalty to capture the inaugural season series with their crosstown rival.
It was hardly perfect, but LA played with great vigor defensively, holding off a resurgent LAFC attack most of the second half -- a huge step forward following last weekend's inept loss at Seattle.
“I thought we played a lot better than we played in Seattle, for sure,” head coach Sigi Schmid said. “I thought defensively we shored some things up. I thought our intensity was really good. I thought the first half was really good for us. ... In terms of the effort and the quality of desire that they showed after last week's game, I was really pleased.”
They might have tallied more, but Ibrahimovic hit a post and was stopped twice by LAFC goalkeeper Tyler Miller before halftime, then watched the attack wane as the game proceeded. The absence of injured midfielders Giovani and Jonathan Dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini didn't help.
“I think everything was good until we came to their box,” Ibrahimovic said. “The last pass was not good at all. This game, we could win easy. It was an easy game. We were much better than them, and we had great chances, but the the last pass was totally opposite of what it should be. We could have scored 3-0, 4-0 easy. ...
“I know. I play the game. If the game was difficult, I would say it. If the game was impossible, I would say it. But the game was easy. We were much better than them, until the final part of the field, where we should have destroyed them, but we didn't. And we gave them one point.”
The Galaxy (10-9-8), who climbed to fourth in the Western Conference, ahead of Real Salt Lake on goal difference, played with uncommon physicality, especially at the back and in midfield. They got solid play all over the field, particularly from Sebastian Lletget in central midfield and along their three-man backline of Rolf Feltscher -- playing his first full 90 since April 21 -- Jorgen Skjelvik and Dave Romney.
“We've been talking about it all week, and I think we needed to do that,” Schmid said. “And so guys stood up in terms of that, because I think at times we've been too soft and we haven't used our strengths. ... In midfield, we got tighter to people, and, obviously, [referee] Jair Marrufo let's a very physical game play anyway, and so that was something we talked about as well.
“We just got closer to people [on defense]. We closed people off. We did a better job of communicating and rotating. [LAFC has] a midfield that rotates an awful lot, and we did a better job of stepping up and rotating there.”
Said Ibrahimovic: “You could see we were hungry. We had a lot of will, and we wanted it so much, and the intensity of game was very good. Until their box, everything was perfect.”
There was a lesson there to absorb.
“Absolutely, there was a lesson learned, in a positive way,” Lletget said. “I would say individually we just need to show up more. We know we have it in us, and sometimes at training, we're like, 'Guys, we have to show this out there.' We can't just think we have talent and it's just going to work out itself. We have to put out the effort.
“Moving forward, it's definitely something we need to show.”
