Keane has 10 goals in his past six league matches and scored twice in Tuesday’s 5-0 rout of Comunicaciones in CONCACAF Champions League play.
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“We got outplayed by a better team”.
After Gyasi Zardes put the hosts in front, Keane struck ten minutes after the interval before former Tottenham forward Giovani dos Santos added a third. At halftime, NYCFC had completed over 100 more passes than L.A (266/163) at a higher success rate (86.8%/ 84%) but was behind.
Los Angeles finished started the game slow, with New York City controlling the first fifteen minutes, however, the tide quickly shifted in favor of the Galaxy.
That said, they will hardly play an easier game all season than they did against New York, so expect a somewhat tighter affair. It was a real team effort.
Following the ensuing corner kick, Lletget crossed a floating ball that Saunders punched right into the waiting feet of Robbie Keane, but his shot violently smashed the underside of the crossbar before bouncing off.
In the second half, Los Angeles’s talent-laden outfit displayed chemistry that NYCFC, five months into its inaugural season, continues to search for.
In the 29th minute, LA thought they had finally gone ahead when Lletget found Dos Santos in the box who bundled the ball home, but referee Baldomero Toledo ruled the play dead. It all goes down this afternoon in Carson.
“We still have a lot to learn about how to be mentally strong and how to get the momentum back in games because I think it is happening to us quite often where we have spells where we are good and then something happens in the game and everything completely shifts and we have a hard time getting that back”, NYCFC coach Jason Kreis said.
“Really close” is the answer from Galaxy club president Chris Klein. Everything just seems to click. “You’ve seen that today”.
New York still fielded Villa, Italian superstar Andrea Pirlo and U.S. national team member Mix Diskerud, but it couldn’t defend Keane and his high-octane offense. The match was his first full 90 minute shift for LA in league play and only his second in all competitions.
Villa had four shots on target blocked and missed another three attempts.
Despite LA’s impressive recent form at home, iit was NYCFC who had the brighter start.
For all of the attention paid to the designated and national team players in this match, it was the supporting cast that proved the difference.
Villa, Pirlo and Lampard – had recently taken part in a photoshoot that saw them wearing just a vest and a pair of shorts as they posed on stools with glistening skin, deliberately moistened for the shoot.
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‘This will become the norm, ‘ said Arena.
