"LA! FC! LA! FC!" the 3252 yell from the north end of the Banc Of California Stadium. The Angel City Brigade answers back with a swift "Oooh campione, the one and only, the Galaxy!" chant from the south end of "The Banc."
This game did not disappoint. LAFC came into this game as a clear favorite due to their dominance in the MLS - First seed in the league with a massive lead in the west conference.
All eyes, of course, were on the leagues two top players, Carlos Vela (LAFC) who is well on his way to becoming one of the best performances in a single season in MLS History, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy), arguably one of the greatest attackers to have ever played the game. The two have faced each other twice already in their current teams. Both times favoring Zlatan’s side of the field with victories. Would this third time be the charm for LAFC?
The start of the match lived up to the hype, with high intensity and an initial dominance by LAFC. However, the magic of Zlatan was the first to get LA Galaxy on the board.
The black and gold side answered back almost immediately with an overwhelming flurry of offensive attacks until Latif Blessing was able to finally breach the Galaxy defense and get the team on the board.
Ladies and gentlemen, we had a showdown. And showdowns are what Zlatan thrives on.
Almost immediately after LAFC equalized the game, Zlatan put his side back on top with an amazing strike.
Shortly after, on a fast counter, Cristian Pavón helped the “LA Galacticos’ widen the lead to 3-1.
It was looking like the game would go into the half with a devastating lead, however, LAFC’s number #7 showed up, yet again, to shorten the distance on the scoreboard to 3-2 in added time, taking the game into halftime.
The second half showed a very one-sided game, with most of the possession of the ball going to the team coached by Bob Bradley. It took only 8 minutes for the City of Angels superstar “Numero Diez” to equalize the match and turn the scoreboard 3-3.
In an unexpected turn of events, Vela was substituted out of the game by coach Bradley. Vela was showing clear indications of discomfort due to an apparent hamstring injury, so Bradley subbed him as a precautionary measure.
Carlitos was visibly upset, and understandably so, as the game’s momentum was being held by his team.
The game continued to show dominance by the home team, with a couple of opportunities to score, effectively defended by the Galaxy’s goalkeeper, David Bingham. This continued until the match finalized in a 3 to 3 tie.