LA Galaxy 1, LAFC 1
Friday, Aug. 24, 2018 – 7:30 p.m. PT
2018 MLS Regular Season
StubHub Center – Los Angeles
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
On getting this result with so many injuries:
“Well I thought we played a lot better this week than we did last week in Seattle for sure. Defensively, we shored some things up. I thought our intensity was really good. I thought the first half was really good for us. It’s unfortunate to give away the penalty. They were around the goal in the second half and had some chances, but we had some chances at the other end and I think we were a little too unselfish. We need to be a little more selfish and pull the trigger. But in terms of the effort, quality and desire they showed after last week’s game, I was really pleased.”
On winning the series against LAFC but only getting a point to the playoff cause:
“It’s still a point. A point helps. It’s better than zero. Winning the season series is important as well. I think this is the 10th season series we’ve won this year against teams. If you can win a majority of your season’s series that’s a good thing. We still have some open accounts out there so next week is Salt Lake and we want to get points out of there and win that season series. So if we keep doing that I think we’ll be okay.
On the Galaxy’s physicality and what else they did better in the match:
“We just got closer to people. We closed people off. We did a better job of communicating and rotating. They have a midfield that does a lot of rotating and we did a better job of stepping up and rotating there. Sebastian Lletget did a good job of pressing high and early at times, so that helped our defense. We were more organized. Our wide players got up more. Ashley got forward more than Pontius, we’d like to see Pontius get forward more naturally and that’s something we continue to work on.”
On if it was the best first half he’s seen from LA Galaxy this season:
“We were better. I thought we were also when we were playing the ball forward. I think there were a couple of times we were maybe a little too direct and maybe needed to be a little less direct. And there were a few times where we built out of the back. But obviously we want to take advantage of getting the ball to Ibra when we can. He’s a nice luxury to have when you can float a ball up there and he can hold on to it and you can run off of it. We need to find that balance, but in terms of our effort and all that I thought it was great.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
On the match:
“I think everything was good until we came to their box. The last pass was not good at all. This game we could win easy, it was an easy game. We were much better than them and we had good chances but the last pass was totally opposite of what it should be and we could have scored three or four goals easily.”
On the commitment shown from the team:
“It was good. We were hungry and we had a lot of will. We wanted it so much and the intensity of the game was very good, and like I said, until their box and the last final [pass], everything was perfect.”
On the defense:
“Like I said, the game was perfect until the last part of the field… That is where the final pass was totally opposite…. The rest was good.”
On missing important players in the final third:
“It’s nothing we can discuss now because the game was played without them and we did a good game. Like I said, it was an easy game and we should have won easy. Easy. I know when I play the games. If the game is difficult, I will say it. If the game is impossible, I will say it. We were much better than them until the final part of the field, where we should have destroyed them. But we didn’t, and we gave them one point.”
On what he thought of his game:
“I was active. I was hungry. I wanted it a lot. The goal I scored, I had a couple of chances in the first half and I tried to put it in. The second, I was just waiting for that final ball to bury the goalkeeper, but it didn’t come. I tried, I did some simple mistakes I should have done. And that’s it.”
On winning the season series against LAFC:
“It doesn’t mean nothing. I prefer to win the trophy than to win against them. Like I said, it was an easy game. We are much better than them.”
LA GALAXY GOALKEEPER DAVID BINGHAM
On the defense tonight:
“Yes, the defensive performance was good, especially in the first half. We came out and really just man handled in the first half, we looked really good. We knew in the second half they were going to come out and throw a little more on the attack, and they did. They got the PK and the rest is history.”
On the commitment and energy tonight:
“LAFC at home with only a few games left and we knew we needed to pick up some points. Tonight we missed that opportunity.”
On the defense for the next games:
“It’s not just the defense, it’s everyone on the field. It looked like men against boys in the first half, and we have to keep that going for the rest of the year.”
On the save against Benny [Feilhaber] and the potential offside call:
“He comes through and he tries to dribble me, but I’m able to come across and get a hand on it. It doesn’t matter, the refs put their flag up or don’t put their flag up. You don’t even know what the rule is anymore, you just play it and see what happens.”
On your encouragement with the defensive performance:
“Yes, it was good. However, at the end of the day we would rather play bad and win the game than play good and tie or lose. We need to win a lot of these games coming up and that’s the only thing that really matters.”
On whether the team is keeping an eye on other game’s results:
“No, with our place in the standings we don’t need to watch anyone. If we take care of our business, then we’re fine.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER SEBASTIAN LLETGET
On if there was a pass missing in the final third:
“When we’re in the attack, we always want to get Ibrahimovic involved. I thought we could’ve done a better job, including myself; I don’t know if I was tired or fatigued… I definitely think it’s a shame they got the penalty, it was a clear penalty, but I thought we had them until that point.”
On the commitment shown from the team:
“We were so up for this game, and we knew we need to keep this up for this game. We need to show that first half every single time we step out on the field. I know it’s a derby game, but we need to maintain this mentality. I’m glad we did show it. We showed everyone that we can do this if we want to.”
On the energy shown:
“There was a big difference in all of us. The commitment, working for each other and not being afraid to play, especially in this occasion, we can’t be afraid. We have to have the courage and I think we showed this at times.”
LAFC HEAD COACH BOB BRADLEY
On the game:
“Not a great start for us, it was a choppy start to the game. Physical game. We found ourselves behind and I thought we picked it up in the first half, and we pushed really hard in the second half in terms of fighting for balls, fighting for headers. LA Galaxy are a direct team. [Zlatan] Ibrahimović and [Ola] Kamara are a handful on every long ball with [Sebastian] Lletget and later on [Bradford] Jamieson IV moving around. So a lot of credit for the way we handled that. I thought our football got better and better as the game went on. We weren’t quite sharp enough in the final moments in the second half. So in that regard, I think we had chances but weren’t able to get the second. Our big takeaway from the game is just that in terms of sticking together and dealing with that kind of game, I thought the guys did great.”
On the team’s direction:
“You want to press when you can, but what you don’t want to do is press only to get a long ball and then you feel like you’re stretched out. I thought there were times where they were on top of their second goal but as the game went on we got better and better.”
On Laurent Ciman’s absence:
“I don’t think he’s fully focused at the moment and when there’s other things going on, listen I will defend the team at the highest level. I had a good talk with him yesterday and I said ‘look, right now, let’s see if we can get things squared away for you.’ He wasn’t going to start this match because all long Walker [Zimmerman] was our choice for this game. I though Walker played really well against the Galaxy in the first match and did the same tonight, I thought fantastic, and I thought Danilo [Silva] came on and handled his part of it so look. I’ll say it again. Laurent [Ciman] has been an important guy. He’s passionate, he’s also emotional. And he’s a guy that when his emotions are running high, sometimes, it’s not always clear if he’s ready, especially for a game like that. So that’s a tough decision, but hey, it’s part of the deal and he and I had a good talk and we’ll take it from there.”
On potentially meeting the LA Galaxy in the playoffs and what he takes away from the series:
“Every game is different. There’s no hurdles, there’s no stigmas or anything else. They have their way of playing direct, strong. Ibra, maybe he can’t quite be running around the field like he did when he was a little bit younger at Ajax, Barcelona, Inter, Juventus, you name it right. But, he is smart and knows how to use his body. He fouls a lot. Tonight he dove. There’s all that kind of stuff. We understand what they want to do. We understand that they are going to try to be physical and to not allow us the kind of rhythm and the kind of flow that we want. And that’s normal. They’re not the only team that’s tried to do that. And it’s a question of how quickly does the ball move. How quickly can we find the right pass when they come after us. Can we play out of pressure a little bit quicker? I think we did a lot of good things but still that’s a real test of the way we want to play because you are up against an opponent who is doing everything possible to make that difficult.”
LAFC FORWARD CARLOS VELA
On turning around the game:
“I think today the defenders did a really good job. They fought a lot today against two big guys. They controlled most of the play. I think that’s how it has to be in the back, then you have to work to take the chances up front, and win games. This is an important moment in the season, we have to win the games and be on the top of the conference.”
On your confidence of knocking out the LA Galaxy in playoffs:
“Of course, we played well. I believe in my team and we can fight any other team in the league. We have to go hard to be in the playoffs and then it’s like another league and we have to be ready for that.”
On not winning the game:
“In this game we had chances in the end but it was really tight. In the other two games I feel like we disappointed because we had a big chance to win. Today everything was very tough for both teams. I’m not disappointed, I think the team worked hard. Of course we have to take the chances to win games, but I think this is the way to play away games. We have to finish the season strong.”
LAFC GOALKEEPER TYLER MILLER
On your mindset going down early in the match:
“I wouldn’t say we really struggled. I would just say we were kind of catching the tempo. The game was fought and the Galaxy came out, did well, pressured us high and they were successful early on. As the game went on we were able to turn the script, we had more space in the middle and were able to connect passes.”
On your saves against Zlatan [Ibrahimović]:
“It felt nice.”
On the message at halftime:
“For us we needed to connect some more passes throughout the middle. We kind of lost that in the first half. I think in the second half we were able to turn it around, find some pockets of space and connect some passes quicker.”
On balancing out the three games of the series:
“I would say overall they were pretty even. Early on in the season we were a new team, inexperienced a little bit, but now we’ve really created our own team chemistry. Tonight a 1-1 draw, I think it was a fair result. Both teams had good chances, but at the end of the day I think this was a fair result, and I’m looking forward to playing these guys again.”
