Emotions were riding high during a wild El Trafico derby which saw the No. 1 seed LAFC beat their rivals LA Galaxy 5-3 to advance to the Western Conference Final.
Those emotions did not die down after the final whistle.
During a postgame flash interview with ESPN's Sebastian Salazar, LAFC head coach Bob Bradley walked off after challenging the reporter's question about LAFC captain Carlos Vela and his performances in big games.
Bradley did not care to entertain the question after a season in which Vela set a single-season goal-scoring record and the 2019 Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year walked off the interview set with a parting message:
Salazar noted later that Bradley had commented on Vela's performances in big games prior to the season.
In countless media interviews throughout his tenure as LAFC manager, Bob Bradley has regularly taken the opportunity to celebrate his squad captain, Carlos Vela, for his leadership, work ethic and competitive spirit.
On the eve of the match, Bradley used these words to describe Vela, who scored 34 goals and had 15 assists during the regular season and another two goals and an assist in the 5-3 win over the Galaxy.
"What I know is that every day Carlos comes in here, he's got a smile, an easy way with his teammates," Bradley said. "He's incredible in training with plays he makes, goals he scores. He's encouraging with this teammates and he's been incredible this year. That's the part I love to talk about."
