CARSON, Calif. – Marcelo Sarvas has been a consistent presence for the LA Galaxy in the center of midfield, but on Saturday, he was given a new place to roam—on the left flank.
With Robbie Rogers out due to a right hamstring injury, the Galaxy shuffled the midfield with Pablo Mastroeni taking Sarvas' spot while the Brazilian was pushed wide. Playing along the left side of midfield, Sarvas was a threat going forward in LA's 2-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC as he frequently tucked into the center, which allowed LA to outman and overpower the Whitecaps midfield.
By the end of his 70 minute shift, the stats showed yet another tidy performance for Sarvas who completed 30 of 40 of his passes -- one of them setting up a scoring chance --while also firing off two shots on frame, both of which were stopped by Vancouver goalkeeper Brad Knighton.
“It was just a starting point for me. I played much more inside and I received the ball to my inside,” said Sarvas of his stint outwide. “When I had the ball, it was good. Of course if we lost the ball, it was a long run [back field], but it was enjoyable.”
The midfielder was eventually removed in the 70th minute of play, but LA head coach Bruce Arena attests that was more about his yellow card situation—he’s just one yellow card from a one-game suspension—than his performance.
“We played Marcelo a bit out of position, but I thought that he did a good job,” said Arena. “I removed him from the game, simply because I wanted to protect him because of [yellow cards].”
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