LAFC are heading to another final, and absolutely no one is surprised.
The Black & Gold continued their scorching hot form in the Leagues Cup semifinals, cruising past the Colorado Rapids in a dominant 4-0 win via yet another unstoppable attacking performance. In six Leagues Cup matches, they've scored 18 goals and conceded three, allowing just a single goal in the knockout stages.
"It's a big opportunity for us and there's a lot of hunger still in our group," head coach Steve Cherundolo told reporters following the win. "We have also added in some new blood and that impacted how we looked tonight. You know, our bench is fantastic, and can be a very deciding factor moving down the stretch of the season."
One of those players coming off the bench? France's all-time leading scorer Olivier Giroud, who subbed on at halftime to get a full 45 minutes under his legs. It was the most the former AC Milan forward has played since joining the Black & Gold earlier this summer as a Designated Player. Asked if he had any advice for Giroud on finding his first Los Angeles goal, Cherundolo laughed.
"He's won everything there is to win at least, scored many goals in his career. He needs no advice from me, that's for sure," he smiled. "And he's looking sharper and sharper in training every day. The minutes tonight, it was the most we've played him up until now. But it has to be a gradual increase in minutes for someone kind of going through a preseason during our season. I was very happy with him tonight. And, you know, he picked off right where Kei [Kamara] left off and was excellent."
LAFC "Have Built a Powerhouse"
It's hard not to marvel at the incredible depth LAFC have available to them. Look at the players they brought into the match; Giroud, Cristian Olivera, Omar Campos, Lewis O'Brien, and Eddie Segura. Timothy Tillman was an unused substitute. Even Colorado head coach Chris Armas couldn't hide his admiration for the juggernaut LAFC have built.
"That's a good team, man. Come on. LAFC, look what they're bringing off the bench," he said, bemused. "John Thorrington and his crew have built a powerhouse. I think we all in this room recognize that, anyone listening to his press conference, if they're watching, that's a top team. Most teams struggle against them. Most teams have hard times."
A Chance For Revenge?
Most teams have had hard times against LAFC. They've won 18 of their last 22 matches, with their sole loss coming in a stunning 5-1 defeat at home to the Columbus Crew on July 13. Ironically, that's who they'll face on Sunday in the Leagues Cup final, a rematch of the 2023 MLS Cup final, which ended in a 2-1 Columbus win.
"They're very set in their ways, quite good, very confident and excellent at home. We have our work cut out for us," Cherundolo said. "But I do think tactically, nothing crazy is going to happen to either group. There shouldn't be too many surprises. It should be a tight game. I know our group is looking forward to a rematch. And I think we're more focused on just the opportunity at hand and not so much about any sort of revenge or trying to beat Columbus."
A chance for revenge? Cherundolo downplayed it, at least publically.
"We already worked through that in the days following the match," he said, brushing off a question of getting the 5-1 loss to Columbus out of their heads. "I don't think anybody has thought about that since we worked through what wrong we can improve on, and since then I've seen nothing but improvement."
"That doesn't play a factor anymore."
