One day of training in Los Angeles remains before LAFC boards its flight to Kansas City for the final match of the regular season. LAFC face Sporting KC with all the stakes out on the table. Win and the Western Conference is Black & Gold. Anything else, and you're almost definitely looking at a midweek knockout match to start the playoffs.
So how has LAFC approached this week of training? Simply put, LAFC is confident in the play that got them here.
"I think we love that challenge every week. It’s not that it’s posed in a different way this week. It’s just looking at things that are important in terms of how we move the ball, how we find space, how we create chances," Bob Bradley said of his team's focus after training on Thursday. "There’s always fine-tuning of details. When we lose the ball is there a chance to win it right away? Is it more a situation that needs to be controlled? Those are things that every week come down to split-second decisions. There are no absolutes, there’s just first trying to get players to read situations and understand what makes the most sense, and then, there’s trying to also ensure that the team as a whole is on the same page."
Considering LAFC already has a playoff spot in hand and have set a new bar in terms of points for an expansion team in its first season, you can't argue with the "if it ain't broke" mentality of Bradley and his team. And even in light of LAFC's 2-0 loss at home to Sporting KC in the only other matchup between the two teams in 2018, Bradley notes there were a lot of positives despite the match coming at an inopportune time in LAFC's schedule.
"The first game, the timing of it, after we played the afternoon match against Red Bull and then 120 minutes in the Open Cup in Houston, and then the travel and the weather, required some rotation. To be fair. I thought we had some really good stretches in that game," Bradley said.
In that match, SKC got out to a one-goal lead in the first half by making use of the space and their press to force an LAFC turnover in transition. But the Black & Gold were able to right themselves in the second half, and despite going further behind following a contentious penalty call, LAFC had some great looks at the SKC goal through second-half substitutes Carlos Vela and Christian Ramirez.
All things considered, it was one of those matches where the scoreline didn't paint the most accurate picture of the match.
"I’ve watched that come 20 times since and I still thought football-wise we played alright that day," Bradley said of the defeat to SKC. "But in key moments, we weren’t sharp enough."
Come Sunday, Bradley will be hoping through execution, not innovation, of LAFC's style of play that the match will be decided. Either way, there's no denying the LAFC head coach is relishing the opportunity.
"The football ideas that we’ve worked on from the beginning always get tested.
"When you do it in a game that means a little bit more, against a good team, in a good atmosphere, I think it’s always a little bit more exciting."
News & Notes
- Asked by reporters if LAFC had any injury concerns headed into the season's final day, Bradley said his team is healthy and expects everyone to be available aside from players still rehabbing long-term injuries like Mark-Anthony Kaye and Quillan Roberts.
- Max Bretos uncovered an interesting nugget during his chat with Bob Bradley for "LAFC Black & Gold" when he asked Bradley about his reaction to LAFC's end-to-end second goal against Vancouver. Cameras caught Bradley smiling from ear to ear, but Bradley said he actually missed the finish after turning away from the play when final pass originally didn't connect with its intended target, Adama Diomande. Bradley only turned around after hearing the roar of the crowd and what the cameras caught was the rest of his coaching staff giving him a hard time about the goal. Bradley ended by saying the buildup for the goal was one of his favorite moments of the season for LAFC.
