Think of any given match from any given week. There's always just one opponent but there can be so many other little contests that mean the difference between three points and a loss.
When teams travel, you've got yet another obstacle built in.
LAFC is hitting the road for the first time this season as they travel to New York City to take on NYCFC on Sunday. Anytime you face NYCFC at their home, you've got three major obstacles to overcome: the team, the travel, and Yankee Stadium.
For this week's Toyota Keys to the Match, let's touch on all three of these areas. Each is going to be pivotal to LAFC staying perfect through three matches to start the season:
Control City's Attackers
NYCFC may have lost David Villa this offseason but they're still flush with diminutive attackers.
Maxi Moralez, Jesus Medina, and Alexandru Mitrita all have the technical quality on the ball to hurt even the most disciplined teams. They love to put sides under pressure with the ball at their feet and can beat multiple defenders off the dribble to open up space to play their teammates through. Not to mention, their guile on the ball can get you into the referee's book real quick, which opens up a whole host of other problems.
It's going to be paramount that LAFC's midfield looks to contain these players coming into attacking areas. If you have to make a tackle, you're likely already in trouble. So they'll need to stay connected to provide help delaying NYCFC's dribblers, allowing teammates to get in the mix and reclaim the ball.
Focus On Preparation
It's the first away trip of the season for LAFC. And it's a long one.
The team was smart to use Friday as a travel day in order to acclimate to the travel and time change before Sunday's match. Players need to be focused from the moment they land. Take care of your body, hydrate, and get sleep on Friday. Then on Saturday, it's imperative to take that final training session seriously. Get your legs going, get the blood flowing, and get your mind back into competition mode.
Come Sunday, you don't want your body to be still dealing with travel as Alexandru Mitrita is running at you with the ball at his feet.
Win Second Balls
Talk about a home-field advantage. The pitch at Yankee Stadium is tiny.
The space between lines is going to be tighter than usual. And because NYCFC plays here 17-plus times a season, they know full well how to take advantage.
One aspect to keep on eye on is when NYCFC go long. They don't have a prototypical hold-up striker up top. But they aren't necessarily interested in the first pass anyway. LAFC have to be ready to compete for every second ball. The tight parameters of the pitch give attackers following up the first pass a short run-in to goal if they can be quicker on loose balls. LAFC need to be wary of this and up to the challenge of corralling those second balls or it's going to be a long day of constant defending in the Big Apple.
