The LA Galaxy’s rough start has been widely discussed but, on Sunday, they became the first team to go into Red Bull Arena and emerge with three points in hand thanks to their major offseason signing.
The Galaxy became the first team to record a win at Red Bull Arena, beating the New York Red Bulls, 3-1, on Sunday.
Star attacker Romain Alessandrini fired two goals to open the scoring, with the first coming in the eighth minute. The midfielder took a freekick from the right side of the penalty area, and the ball went over the many heads in the box, landing straight in the back of the net.
The lead was doubled only a minute later, as Giovani Dos Santos found Alessandrini in the center of the penalty area. From close range, the Frenchman was able to finish, shocking their opponents with two quick goals.
The Galaxy’s final goal came in the 78th minute through a penalty. Alessandrini was involved yet again, as he was fouled by substitute Mike Grella in the box. Dos Santos stepped up to take it, easily sending the ball past Luis Robles.
The Red Bulls were able to grab a consolation goal through Daniel Royer, who scored in stoppage time. In what was virtually the last kick of the match, the Austrian scored from the right side of goal to make the score 3-1.
Not all went well for LA, though, as Bradley Diallo picked up a second yellow in the 90th minute. Diallo will miss the team’s next match against Minnesota United.
The win is the Galaxy’s first since April 7, seemingly a course correction after a lackluster beginning to the 2017 season. The Red Bulls have recorded what is now their third consecutive defeat, after losses to Sporting Kansas City and the Philadelphia Union.
Man of the Match
Romain Alessandrini remained a force to be reckoned with for 90 minutes. With his brace before the 10 minute mark, he managed to unsettle the Red Bulls, allowing the Galaxy to record one of their best performances of the season.
Moment of the Match
Alessandrini’s opener was a talented shot from a wide angle that first looked like it came off of a teammate’s head. Instead, his shot flew over the heads of all in the box, and landed in the goal.
Match to Forget
New York center backs Damien Perrinelle and Aaron Long looked off all night, allowing space for the Galaxy’s attack to record shots throughout. The two looked suspect multiple times during the match, their second consecutive time conceding three goals.
Well,…that was a very poor performance from Red Bulls. LA put the clamps on BWP and no one else offered much in the way of support.
Red Bulls are regressing. The back looks a mess. Eight goals surrendered in three games? The midfield is not offering much and Klestjian is NOT a difference maker. BWP can score goals when provided good service,…but it’s just not there. So they traded Dax for allocation $$$. What are they doing with it? They need a right back, at least one center back and an impact #10. The kids ( Muyle, Davis, Adams, Long, Entienne) are OK,…but are not that advanced.
Lastly,…it was a beautiful night for a game and the stadium was light on supporters. Granted it was Mother’s Day,…but they need to do better. They need a star. Is there another Henry-type signing out there? Can they repatriate Tim Ream? Any MLS talent they could poach?
EMPTY STADIUM. I mean really pathetic turnout. Brutal, simply brutal. Week after week that stadium is a sea of empty seats. Why is there a franchise there when there are so many cities begging for a team? Harrison NJ does not deserve a team. Harrison NJ??? Really?
Right now they are not giving casual fans any reason to come out to the games. They are NOT an exciting team and they have no stars (e.g., Henry, Villa, Giavinco). RBA puts Yankee Stadium to shame,…but NYCFC has Villa. Put Villa on Red Bulls and a) they a re a much better team and b) they would have a lot more butts in seats. Pretty simple.
Was extremely disappointing (I was there), but Mother’s Day was a huge reason. I usually get a group of 20-25 for the bi-annual LA game, but didn’t find a single person to join us this time.
Mostly disagree with the big names being needed. We had Henry AND Mexico NT captain and the attendance was exactly the same as it is in 2017. Just not enough fans in the area who do not belittle MLS.
With the Galaxy struggling so much early in the season, Alessandrini hasn’t gotten the buzz he should be getting. He’s one of the best players in the league.
Agreed. He looks like the second coming of Giovinco. The whole team looked so much better yesterday. Without JJ there, Pedro and Husidic did their job, nothing fancy, but allowed Alessandrini and GDS to do their thing up top. On the other hand, Zardes looks lost out there. Starting to wonder if his rookie season was just a fluke…