Sports stats

MLS LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy Earn 4-0 Shutout Win over CF Montréal at Dignity Health Sports Park on July 4

July 5, 2022 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


LOS ANGELES - Playing on July 4, the LA Galaxy earned a 4-0 shutout victory over CF Montréal in front of 23,855 fans at Dignity Health Sports Park on Wednesday night. Rayan Raveloson tallied two goals and Javier "Chicharito" Hernández scored the game-winning goal, while Julián Araujo notched two assists in the win over Montreal.

Goals Around The Galaxy

Chicharito and Dejan Joveljić each tallied goals in the win over Montreal. Chicharito notched his team-leading seventh goal in league play this season. Joveljić has tallied at least one goal in four consecutive league appearances, recording five goals and two assists dating back to May 29. Amongst players that have played a minimum of 350 minutes, Joveljić leads MLS with 1.50 goals scored per 90 minutes played. Raveloson recorded the first multi-goal performance of his career in the victory against Montreal. Raveloson scored his first goal in league play dating back to Aug. 17, 2021, a span of 28 matches.

LA Galaxy Against CF Montréal

The July 4th match between LA and Montréal marked the eighth all-time meeting between the two clubs, with the Galaxy leading the series 5-1-3. In five matches played against Montreal at home dating back to Oct. 16, 2013, LA holds an unbeaten record of 4-0-1, outscoring CF Montréal 9-1 during that span.

Goal-Scoring Plays

LA - Chicharito (Efraín Álvarez, Samuel Grandsir), 8th minute: Cutting onto his right foot, Samuel Grandsir whipped in a cross from the left wing into the center of the box. Efraín Álvarez flicked his header toward the right side of the six-yard box to Chicharito, who fired his swiveling shot through the legs of Montreal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza.

LA - Dejan Joveljić (Penalty Kick), 45+4th minute: After Montreal was whistled for a handball inside the box, Dejan Joveljić stepped up to the spot and buried his penalty kick attempt into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.

LA - Rayan Raveloson (Julián Araujo, Daniel Aguirre), 60th minute: Daniel Aguirre slipped a pass that released Julián Araujo down the right wing. Araujo played a hard ball across the face of goal to Rayan Raveloson, who converted from close range at the far post.

LA - Rayan Raveloson (Sacha Kljestan, Julián Araujo), 79th minute: Working down the right, Julián Araujo slid a pass into the center of the penalty box. Sacha Kljestan quickly backheeled the ball into the path of Rayan Raveloson, who smashed his shot in from close range.

Postgame Notes

Monday's match marked the 26th MLS regular-season match held on July 4 at home for the Galaxy, with LA holding a 14-7-5 record on games played on Independence Day.

This season, the Galaxy are 6-0-0 across all competitions against the top six teams in the Supporters' Shield race, with a win over NYCFC on Feb. 27, victories over Austin FC on May 8 and May 29, wins against LAFC on April 9 and May 25 and the win over CF Montréal on July 4.

The July 4th match between LA and Montréal marked the ninth all-time meeting between the two clubs, with the Galaxy leading the series 5-1-3.

Following the win over Montreal, LA (8-6-3, 27 points) moved up to eighth place in the Supporters' Shield race.

In 13 matches played at home across all competitions in 2022, LA holds a 7-5-1 record.

LA improved to 7-1-1 when scoring the opening goal of a match during the 2022 campaign.

LA equaled a season-high with four goals scored in the victory against Montreal.

Rayan Raveloson registered the first two-goal performance in his career for the Galaxy.

Chicharito tallied his team-leading seventh goal scored in league play during the 2022 campaign.

No player in MLS has scored more goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches since the start of last season than Chicharito (7).

Across all competitions this season, Dejan Joveljić leads the Galaxy with nine goals scored and has added two assists in 603 minutes played in 19 appearances (5 starts).

Julián Araujo notched his fourth career two-assist performance in league play for LA.

Jonathan Bond tallied three saves and recorded his sixth shutout of the 2022 campaign.

Sacha Kljestan tallied his 99th career assist in his 321st MLS regular-season appearance.

Kljestan, who made his first appearance since May 18, has tallied one goal and two assists in his last three games played dating back to May 14.

Daniel Aguirre recorded an assist for a consecutive match.

Efraín Álvarez tallied his second assist of the season.

Samuel Grandsir made his 55th consecutive appearance for the Galaxy across all competitions dating back to April 18, 2021.

Grandsir registered his sixth assist in 21 appearances across all competitions for LA this year.

Next Game

Up next, the Galaxy travel to face LAFC in the 15th edition of El Tráfico across all competitions at Banc of California Stadium on Friday, July 8. The July 8 match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PT and features a national television broadcast on ESPN.

LA Galaxy (8-6-3, 27pts) vs. CF Montréal (9-6-2, 29pts)

July 4, 2022 - Dignity Health Sports Park (Los Angeles)

Goals by Half 1 2 F

LA Galaxy 2 2 4

CF Montréal 0 0 0

Scoring Summary:

LA: Chicharito (Álvarez, Grandsir), 8

LA: Joveljić (penalty kick), 45+4

LA: Raveloson (Araujo, Aguirre), 60

LA: Raveloson (Kljestan, Araujo), 79

Misconduct Summary:

LA: Delgado (caution), 27

MTL: Piette (caution), 38

MTL: Miljevic (caution), 90

Lineups:

LA: GK Jonathan Bond; D Julián Araujo, D Séga Coulibaly (Nick DePuy, 77), D Derrick Williams, D Raheem Edwards; M Samuel Grandsir (Kelvin Leerdam, 68), M Rayan Raveloson, M Mark Delgado, M Efraín Álvarez (Daniel Aguirre, 57); F Dejan Joveljić (Víctor Vázquez, 56), F Javier "Chicharito" Hernández © (Sacha Kljestan, 77)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Jonathan Klinsmann; D Eriq Zavaleta; M Jonathan Pérez

TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Rayan Raveloson, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Rayan Raveloson, 2); FOULS: 9 (Raheem Edwards, Samuel Grandsir, 2) OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3

MTL: GK Sebastian Breza; D Rudy Camacho, D Joel Waterman, M Victor Wanyama, M Samuel Piette © (Matko Miljevic, 45), M Joaquin Torres (Mason Toye, 45), M Jojea Kwizera (Kamal Miller, 68), M Lassi Lappalainen (Mathieu Choiniere, 68), M Alistair Johnston, M Ismael Kone; F Romell Quioto (Kei Kamara, 77)

Substitutes Not Used: GK James Pantemis; D Gabriele Corbo, D Zachary Brault-Guillard; M Ahmed Hamd

TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Three players tied, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Three players tied, 1); FOULS: 13 (Samuel Piette, 3) OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 0

Referee: Tim Ford

Assistant Referees: Cameron Blanchard, Jeremy Kieso

Fourth Official: Mark Allatin

VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero

Weather: Clear, 70 degrees

Attendance: 23,855

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial

LA GALAXY POSTGAME QUOTES

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH GREG VANNEY

On his initial thoughts on the game and the result:

On Rayan Raveloson's injury in the first half:

"It was an ankle issue, and so, you know, I think, un-taped, he probably couldn't go back. So, was just trying to win enough time to see if he could. And, all the credit goes to him, because he got it and he got out there. And he put on a heck of a shift. And scores a couple goals. Puts out a lot of work. And so, it was fantastic, luckily we didn't have to make that adjustment that early, because it changes all of our substitutions over the course of the entire night. So, it was huge for him. To even stay in through the course of the game."

On the 4-4-2 formation, what he saw from that and how important getting the first goal is:

"The first goal is, again, really important. The intention of our group was to come out with just a different level of intensity. And a little bit more directness from the start, like I said. So, I thought that got us going. I thought our guys were sprinting right off the bat. Sometimes, we've had a couple home games that we've been so calculated at the start, we haven't really gotten ourself going until we're down a goal. And so the intention tonight was really to spur our energy out without necessarily exposing ourself, but through playing forward more and getting the ball to our front guys a little faster. Could we build a little bit more intensity and speed into the game. So I thought that was really important. As far as the two strikers, I think it worked out on the attacking side for sure. We suffered a little bit defensively over the course of the game, just trying to manage their three-man build out, and getting our collective movement at the same time. It meant that we were a little late or stuck, or whatever. Which meant, you defend in numbers. You get guys behind the ball. You condense spaces. You move people around. And as I said to the guys, everybody did whatever they had to do in this game to defend. Because, I felt, and we made a little adjustment, not adjustment, we had to make an adjustment earlier in the game because of a player issue, and so our preparation for the game ended up being different. And we had to make that change today. And I never felt like we really settled in to an efficient defending posture. We kind of defended in numbers. And so... and we did a nice job with that. And credit to the guys for the commitment to break out in the transition, and to get guys going forward in the transition, because that's where we really punished them at the end of the day. Was the transition. If we didn't have large stretches of possession, like we normally do at home, and I think some of that has to do with two forwards, maybe punishing them the way we did has to do with two forwards, too, right? So, it's what I said before. It's a balancing act sometimes when you play with two forwards."

On Daniel Aguirre and what he has seen from him, and if he has been impressed with his play:

"I have. Look, Daniel [Aguirre] is a cool customer. And the guy's emotion and energy never changes. Since day one, when he came in as a college kid from Riverside, and we didn't know who he was. And I threw him in to play right back in a preseason game, because whoever was playing right back at the time was getting skinned by somebody in Kansas City. And he came in to right back, which isn't even his position, and he locked it down. And we were like, who is this kid? He just stepped in to that, and was dealing with a very good right winger, left winger, and just closed it down. He's always been cool. So every day he shows up. He does the work. He does what he has to do. He's versatile. He can play different roles because he's a cerebral player. And, for me, it's just... part of it is continuing to give him moments to build trust with him, within the group, so that we know he's connected within the group and he can give us what he can on a consistent basis. And he certainly has done that in his opportunities. Especially in these last two games, but I think always in his opportunities, he's very solid. And, today, we played him in a slightly different role because we played him a little bit wider to try to help us again defensively, also to just try to give us a little bit of possession, and he slips in a nice little back door ball that I think unlocks the game a little bit for us. And that makes it 3-0, right? So, that's an important goal. So, I'm really pleased with Daniel. I know he was probably disappointed he didn't start today, because of the performance. I thought he had a nice, solid performance last game, but I also feel like we needed a little bit of size in Rayan [Raveloson] to help defend in set pieces because they're a big team. But, I think he did a great job when he came in."

On what he saw from the team, coming off the previous losses and with a big game now coming up, and what went into the performance today:

"To be honest with you, it's something that I, from a personal standpoint as the leader of this team, have to check on myself. Because I'm a coach, I'm a tactician sometimes. And I'm a teacher in the way I do things. And sometimes I have to remind myself that I have to help provide the team with some intensity. So, I tried to come in and drive this group a little bit more today with how I approached them. Yesterday was probably the most intense day before a game training that we've had the entire year. I don't even think it's a question. It is. Which brought in some intensity today. A little bit from me is to remind myself, so that I can also push that into the team. The team doesn't become overly analytical and trying to think through things too much. But, really also was driving. Today was a result based off of intensity, hard work and dedication. Doing what you need to do and executing on the transition when we needed to. It wasn't a game of tactical superiority on the day. It was a game where the guys just put it in and they got the job done. Sometimes that's the way the game plays out."

On his reaction to Sacha Kljestan's assist:

"That was class. I asked him if he meant it, or if he was just trying to clear the ball to play forward so he could forecheck. But, no, he saw it. He meant it. We've missed Sach [Sacha Kljestan], because he just brings a cool, calm and collected, smart, clean, tactically aware player that, and some leadership, to our group, and we've missed him. So, to get him back out there again and going tonight was really big, just for our group in general. It was nice to see him impact the game in more ways than one."

On VAR and Dejan Joveljić confidently walking to the penalty spot:

"Yeah, I mean, Dejan [Joveljić] is as confident as they come when. As a striker, he hits those things after training just about every day, when training ends. He's confident about it. I've seen him do it time and time again in training, and a couple in the [Lamar Hunt U.S.] Open Cup game. So, I was confident when the ball was in his hands. For me, I'm just never really confident in what VAR, the call is going to... what's going to come out of that. But I was confident in Dejan's ability to pick his spot and put it in the back of the net."

LA GALAXY FORWARD JAVIER "CHICHARITO" HERNÁNDEZ

On his feelings after tonight's game:

"How do you think? [Laughs]. I think awesome. Like I have always said it, in my position to score goals, it's always going to be something that gives you a lot of confidence and motivation. But then when those goals help and transform them in like victories or points is always unbelievable, you know? But yeah, I said it as well in the interview when we lost against Sacramento in the in the U.S. Open Cup that we need to stay calm, you know, the greatest franchises and greatest teams, they go and they face every game and every obstacle with the same, like, serenity, [if that's what you want to call it]. They don't feel that they are the best and they have done everything, or when they lose, they don't feel like they are the worse in everything and they panic, you know. So, I think that's the consistency that I spoke about even with you before, I think it was the game against Portland, probably, that we need consistency. And in this league, you can see it. Today, D.C. United goes to Orlando and beat them 3-5. That's the beauty of this league, that whoever finds consistency is going to be [closer] to winning the championship or to qualify to playoffs, you know. So, I think, yeah of course we're going to enjoy, it's a 4-0 in our stadium, a shutout, a clean sheet. We scored four goals, three different teammates who scored and yeah, I think it's a very complete performance in a way, but we haven't done nothing, you know. Here, the aim is to get as high as we can in our conference to qualify for the playoffs and we know that's like a separate tournament when the playoffs start."

On how the team started the game off today compared to other home matches:

"Look man, sometimes, and I think it's part of the game and the narratives and the press side and stuff. But for example, it's like against Minnesota, we had one chance with Victor [Vasquez's] header. The keeper did a very good safe and it could have changed the game, like today as well, [Jonathan] Bond did an amazing save, and it could have changed the game. Again, that's why sometimes calmness could put everything in perspective. It's always the best way, in my opinion, to see and to face life, you know, because, yeah, we need to be respectful with them. They were on top of the eastern conference, you know, and we weren't playing pretty well in the last three or four games. So, yeah, we need to be very respectful. We feel pretty confident, very happy. But yeah. I mean, [from] the experience last season, about that like hurtful experience, like we cannot celebrate nothing more than it is. You know, it's just three points with a lot of confirmations, with a lot of attitude, like playing together, fighting, giving everything. And then of course being as focused as we can and as clever as we can inside the pitch to do what Greg [Vanney] tells us is going to be in a more positive way than negative. Then on Friday, it's one of those games that we all want to play. And yeah, we want to win, of course."

On the team's chemistry this match and what the team has to do to play this way every match:

"Yeah, that's key of life. If you keep giving the power of every outcome, or everything that it's out of your control, yeah, sometimes you depend on things, in situations. Like, I always said, and I give this example about, like the weather. Every single time that the sun comes out, you can be happy if you depend on that. And if it's cloudy and rainy, what are you going to have, what's going to happen? You are going to be sad? Of course, the mood changes and it depends, so I think however you face every situation in your life, that is the key of life. You know, any obstacles, any good or very pleasant moment as well. So because there's no destiny to arrive to, even though we want the championship. It's like, last season we were the clear example. The only team that we were in the playoffs, like I have always repeated, right? And we were just five minutes away from the playoffs, and then I stayed in my couch, watching the playoffs and seeing New York City winning the championship. Not something that I wanted. So it's like, yeah, consistency. Be very humble because I think humbleness sometimes people think that being humble means you need to be like, submissive, but like being humble is like, you don't see no one who is above you but you don't see no one who is below you. You know, we all have the same chances, we are all humans. But yeah, it was a pretty complete performance for us. But I want to be clear in every single time you know - the job is not done. We want to qualify to playoffs, we want to be at least in top three of this conference and then yeah. And then the playoffs, you know it's a different tournament. It's a different vibe, it's a different atmosphere but yeah, Galaxy needs to be there and we try to do our best. Of course, I think, every Galaxy member and every staff member, every player, every coaching staff, Greg [Vanney]. Of course, we're going to be more happy to work through the week when you win 4-0 against a very good team like Montreal right, rather than when we work after the game that we lost against Sacramento, you know, in the Cup. So yeah, that's obvious. But I want to be pretty calm because that's the key of everything and I learned that from, from the greatest, you know, until job is not done. You cannot relax not even a bit, you know. You can ask the Warriors now, and you can ask Stephen [Curry] right now. What he wants to do to retire or to try to win his fifth ring. He will say that he wants to win his fifth ring, you know? So that's life, we all learn about mamba mentality as well. Another guy who taught us and it was a very good mentor for all of us. So yeah, we need to keep going. I want to send that message and sorry if I speak a lot, you know."

LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER MARK DELGADO

On the team's mentality tonight:

"I would say, just from the begging, our intensity and mentality of each and every member on the field was sharp, it was excellent. From the beginning everyone was locked in. We gave them nothing. We didn't let them pick their head up, once they left it off for someone else, another guy was going out and pressuring and we were following in from behind, so we didn't give them much time to really put anything together. I would say against Austin and LAFC we were exactly like that. Just a bit better in possession. But when we are on our best, that's what we do. The intensity is just at another level. The focus is on another level all together. We can definitely be a very dangerous team."

On what the difference tonight was:

"I would say that it's just an understanding that every game in this league is, you know, we have a lot of foreigners. But we do have MLS experience and trying to get that across everyone's head that every game in this league is very important. Every point matters. So, we have to enter every game with the mentality that we had today. Every game has to be like that, we respect what they can do, they may not be as high on the table, but we have to bring it every game. We just have to carry that each and every game."

On the team's next match on Friday:

"I think it puts us in a good position. We came out with a good win. Everyone is feeling good, and it just sets the tone for the next match and so forth. This is the standard, this is where we have to be at, if not better, and we just have to continue pushing the bar. So, we can't backwards. We have to keep going forwards and keep pushing the bar.

Check out the LA Galaxy Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from July 5, 2022


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central