TORREON, Coah. – LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena spoke to reporters following the club’s 4-0 defeat to Santos Laguna. Los Angeles exits the CONCACAF Champions League at the quarterfinal stage for a second consecutive time.
(On the defeat to Santos…)
ARENA: “Clearly Santos was the better team tonight. They started in an aggressive fashion; they were technically better than us and fitter. At this time of the year, they’re just a better team than we are.”
(On if the team’s superstars are a disadvantage…)
ARENA: “I didn’t see any superstars on our team tonight. They will not be a problem; they should be an advantage for us in the future.”
(On how the team will recover…)
ARENA: “Mentally we’ll be fine. We’ll recover from this performance. Our league starts on Sunday, so we have to be ready to play on Sunday.”
(On if MLS must fix the calendar of the CCL…)
ARENA: “That’s something that they should be working to do because it’s been a complaint of ours for a number of years. In all fairness to CONCACAF, Liga MX is adhering to the international calendar. We’re the league that does not recognize the international calendar. Therefore, we get punished for it.”
(On what is next for the LA Galaxy..)
ARENA: “We’re beginning our season on Sunday and our primary objective for the year is to win an MLS championship.”
(On if MLS is the same level as Liga MX…)
ARENA: “I think the Mexican league is ahead of MLS. We’re closing the gap, but clearly, I think the Mexican league is ahead of MLS at this point in time.”
