To a man, every LAFC player this week said the same thing about playing in the knockout round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The stakes are higher. Every decision matters that much more. We're in this together.
On Thursday, LAFC hosts Real Salt Lake in the first playoff match in Club history. When this match at Banc of California Stadium ends, be it after 90 minutes, extra time, or penalties, one team will move on and the other will be going home.
Here are the Toyota Keys to the Match for LAFC's first-round playoff match with Real Salt Lake:
We're In This Together
When the stakes are higher, everyone has to come together.
The entire squad acknowledged the need to be accountable from the first whistle to the last. Multiple players spoke about picking up teammates and making sure everyone is on the same page. It's the attention to little details that could be the difference between creating opportunities and putting the team in danger. And it takes all 11 players on the pitch working in unison.
That means attacking as a team, defending as a team, and facing and figuring out challenges in the match as a team.
Play LAFC Football
It's dynamic, it's creative, it's proactive. The LAFC brand of football is never boring.
Bob Bradley wants his team to use the ball and put teams under pressure. That means passes, attacking space, playing at pace, and most of all, finishing opportunities. If LAFC can define the parameters of this match by seizing the initiative, they'll be in a good position to advance. And as Carlos Vela told reporters the day before the match, "When we play happy, we play better."
Get Vela Going Early
Speaking of Carlos Vela, it's no secret who moves LAFC forward in attack. The more opportunities Vela has on the ball in the opponents final third, the better for LAFC.
To do that though, it's about moving Real Salt Lake around the pitch in ways that allow Vela to exploit spaces. LAFC need to move the ball quickly and under control through the likes of Benny Feilhaber, Lee Nguyen, Jordan Harvey, and Steven Beitashour first, and then find Vela moving away from his marker and towards goal. If RSL is focused on the ball, that's when Vela has the opportunity to create with defenders playing catch up. And defensively, when LAFC do turn the ball over, the team needs to be in positions to quickly shut down space and win the ball back. The more chances LAFC gets on the ball with RSL out of position, the more havoc Vela can create towards the opponent's goal.
