Nothing good ever comes from a penalty in the first 10 minutes of a match.
Alright, that might be an exaggeration. Don't double check the stats. But is there anything more ominous than an early penalty decision.
Too many times, the penalty plays a big part in the match in the worst way possible. Either the team that converts it goes on to lose. Or worse, they miss and fall in a narrow defeat.
- D.C. United 0-4 LAFC
Thankfully, Carlos Vela made amends for his penalty miss by making sure we didn't have to worry about all that comes with my early-penalty neurosis.
Let's get right into the takeaways from LAFC's 4-0 victory over D.C. United:
Rooney vs. Vela
There was only one clear winner here. Funny though, it wasn't close even before Wayne Rooney lunged in on Diego Rossi and earned himself a red card.
Despite missing that aforementioned penalty, Carlos Vela did exactly what MVPs do. He put this miss behind him and went back to work. It doesn't hurt when you can right yourself with this kind of shot:
Before he was sent off, Rooney had little impact on the match. Vela had a goal and an assist in helping his team to a 3-0 just over 30 minutes into the match. Rooney was bottled up by a combination of Walker Zimmerman, Eddie Segura, and Eduard Atuesta. Worse yet, D.C. United's inability to hold the ball for nearly any period of time meant they were going more direct to try and close the gap on LAFC. And that just doesn't suit Rooney.
Vela now has seven goals and four assists to start 2019. Not to mention, 16 of Vela's 21 MLS goals have come in away matches.
If you came into this match looking for a battle of two MVP candidates, you'd have to walk away with only one clear frontrunner. And it wasn't even close...
Sharp In Transition
Oddly enough, I didn't think LAFC had its best match in this one.
At halftime, Bob Bradley made a point to say two things that were glaringly obvious: his team was great in transition but needed to get better control of the match. Up a man after the Rooney red card, LAFC did manage to get a handle on the match. But in the first half, they were by no means clean on the ball.
They made up for the lack of fluidity at times by punishing D.C. for their mistakes. LAFC was brilliant when they turned D.C. over. The passing sequences were quick and almost choreographed. Once they got at United's backline, LAFC were incisive with their passes and runs. Better yet, they made the most of those opportunities with good finishes as well.
Russell Canouse and Junior Moreno usually keep things airtight for United by shielding the defense. But Canouse, in particular, gave LAFC too many opportunities to cut the pair out of the play. And if you're back four is scrambling towards its own goal with LAFC on the break, you might as well run all the way back to prepare to pull the ball out of the net.
That might have been the real difference in this match. Both teams weren't at their best when in possession, but when it came to mistakes, LAFC simply hammered D.C. at nearly every instance.
Mr. Rossi Goes To Washington
Don't look now, but Diego Rossi has scored in three straight matches.
Hard to say a player that scored a hat trick is overshadowed by anyone. But Rossi's three goals kind of took a backseat to the Vela-Rooney narrative in this one - Rooney trying to take a chunk out of him, notwithstanding. (Stat of the Day: LAFC are the first team in MLS history to have back-to-back hat tricks in consecutive road matches thanks to Vela and Rossi)
Of the three goals, this was probably the best though (honorable mention: Rossi's baby curler for LAFC's third goal):
Rossi plays that ball wide to Vela and continues his run. But not in the lackluster way you see some forwards play the ball wide and move towards the box. Rossi surges into the penalty area and, if you notice, he points to where he wants the ball just before Vela sends the pass - a delicious outside-of-the-boot assist, might I add.
Was there a deflection that helped Rossi out a bit? Maybe. But that whole sequence pretty much the story of this match: D.C. loses the ball, LAFC go quick and decisively, the timing and the run are perfect, and it's in the back of the net.
Consecutive Shutouts
It wasn't always pretty. For the most part though, LAFC wasn't really troubled at the back.
They dealt well with D.C. early in the match as they tried to go direct of LAFC's high line. And as I already mentioned, Walker Zimmerman and Eddie Segura did really well to guide Wayne Rooney into congested pockets when he dropped to create in front of the backline.
Tyler Miller might need to do something nice for Steven Beitashour after his two goal-line clearances, but back-to-back shutouts away from home should always be celebrated.
Signature Wins
We can debate over who is the best team in MLS all you want. But I'm just going to say this.
There are other teams that remain unbeaten, just like LAFC. There are teams that may even be on the same pace for points. But no other side has had to face the regular-season Western Conference winners, an MLS Cup finalist, and five playoff teams in its first six matches and looked this good.
