LAFC grab first El Trafico road victory with 3-2 win over rival LA Galaxy

LAFC notched their first El Trafico road win at Dignity Healthy Sports Park in Carson, California with a 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy as goals by Carlos Vela and Ryan Hollingshead sealed the deal for the Black and Gold.

LAFC now move to second in the Western Conference after their hard-fought win against the Galaxy, managing 17 points in seven games.

“It feels great. I feel like we showed many times that we’re better than them, but for some reason anytime we play here it’s a crazy start,” said Carlos Vela. “After this one, I hope we win more often here and show every time that we play LA Galaxy that we’re the team of this city.”

Vela played a huge role in LAFC’s win, notching two goals and an assist during his 71 minutes on the pitch. He now stands as the leading goalscorer of El Trafico match up.

“Carlos has a very special left leg and his football IQ is also off the charts,” Cherundolo said post game.

“Carlos has done that time and time again and it’s great to see that, it’s great to see him finishing in the manner that he finishes his chances. He doesn’t get many many chances, but he’s there when we need him and that’s why he is at LAFC and nobody else.”

Though LAFC’s schedule is congested with their participation in the CONCACAF Champions League, Cherundolo isn’t worried about his team getting tired. The Black and Gold invested heavily in the off-season to bring in quality players such as defender Aaron Long, attacker Stipe Buik, and fullback Sergi Palencia to rotate if needed. 

“It’s very difficult to win a game in this league, especially on the road. This was also our fifth game in two weeks and I think we saw a little bit of that tonight,” Cherundolo said.

“To win here and to continue in the Champions League in the fashion we did, and seeing where we are on the table, makes it much easier to forgive the guys for a rather average to below average performance. For them to find a way to win after what they’ve been through over the past couple of weeks is absolutely excellent and speaks about their mentality and where we are as a group.”

For the Galaxy, however, it’s not all smiles.

Though the G’s are still winless through eight games, head coach Greg Vanney looked on the bright side of the 3-2 loss. But there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“For a lot of the day, I was pleased with our performance, I was pleased with our effort, our energy,” Vanney said. “We punished ourselves today. Today we killed ourselves and that’s unfortunate against a good team that has momentum in their favor.”

Still, Vanney reiterated that he’s proud of his team and that they’ll continue to work hard to see the fruits of their labor. 

“I’m proud of the guys’ effort. This is an interesting week for everybody. But the effort for the guys was fantastic. And I thought at times our performance was fantastic. I’ve never been more sure about this group’s ability to do something special this season than today. We’ve got to cut out the part where we hurt ourselves to make the other team beat us.”

Forward Chicharito echoed similar sentiments, saying that it was their best performance of the season. 

“Today I think regardless of the result, it was the best performance in my opinion that we did because honestly if LAFC is considered the best team of the league, we outplayed them. The problem is we did [a] very naive mistake, all of us.”

The Galaxy will return to MLS play on April 22nd when they face off against Austin FC. Likewise, LAFC will also get return to MLS action the same day, away at Nashville SC.