After an impressive start to the season, Los Angeles FC enter Wednesday night’s match against host St. Louis City after two heavy losses.
LAFC (6-3-3, 21 points) lost 4-0 at Toluca on May 6 in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal tie, sending Toluca to the final with a 5-2 aggregate scoreline. Four days later, Los Angeles lost 4-1 to the visiting Houston Dynamo.
LAFC’s Champions Cup run, leading to a compressed schedule, has taken a toll on the players, according to head coach Marc Dos Santos.
“There’s a correlation with that push you do in Champions (Cup) while you’re playing in the league that has to be maybe thought about a little bit better in the future, because it’s been hard mentally for us and physically,” Dos Santos said.
St. Louis City (2-6-3, 9 points) snapped a 0-3-2 skid in league play — and secured their first road win of the season — with a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. That match featured 37 fouls and seven yellow cards while ending with both players down a man.
Jeong Sang-Bin, making his sixth appearance of the season and just his third start, scored his first goal of the season in the 26th minute.
“That’s the reward for how (good) he’s been for the past few weeks. I think he’s put his head down, and he puts a ton of work in, and I’m happy for him that he (got) a reward with the goal,” St. Louis head coach Yoann Damet said.
St. Louis City midfielder Chris Durkin was sent off after picking up two yellow cards against Colorado and will miss Wednesday’s match.
LAFC defender Sergi Palencia suffered an apparent groin injury against Houston and will be out until after the World Cup break.
St. Louis’s 10 goals are tied for the second-fewest in the league. LAFC have allowed 12 goals, the fifth-fewest in MLS.
LAFC are 5-0-2 all-time against St. Louis. Son Heung-Min leads MLS with eight assists.
–Field Level Media
