MLS LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy Postgame Notes and Quote Sheet: LA Galaxy 1, Chicago Fire 1 - Saturday, February 22, 2020

Published on February 22, 2020 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


LA Galaxy 1, Chicago Fire FC 1

Saturday, February 22, 2020 - 3:35 p.m. PT

Preseason Exhibition

Dignity Health Sports Park - Carson, Calif.

Scoring Summary:

LA - Sacha Kljestan (Assisted by Javier Hernandez) 54'

CHI - Michael Azira (Assisted by Robert Beric) 84'

Misconduct Summary:

LA - Sacha Kljestan 77' (Yellow Card)

LA Galaxy Starting Lineup: 1-David Bingham, 2-Perry Kitchen (15-Joe Corona 70'), 3-Emiliano Insua (22-Julian Araujo 78'), 7-Aleksander Katai (27-Emil Cuello 65'), 10-Cristian Pavon,14-Javier Hernandez ©, 16-Sacha Kljestan, 17-Sebastian Lletget, 20-Nick DePuy, 21-Giancarlo Gonzalez, 25-Rolf Feltscher

Substitutions not used: 18-Justin Vom Steeg, 28-Kai Koreniuk, 29-Ethan Zubak, 31-Gordon Wild, 67-Carlos Harvey

TOTAL SHOTS: 20; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDE: 2 CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 6

Chicago Fire FC Starting Lineup: 3-Jonathan Bornstein, 4-Johan Kappelhof, 5-Francisco Calvo ©, 10-Alvaro Medran, 11-Przemyslaw Frankowski, 13-Brandt Bronico, 14-Djordje Mihailovic, 18-Kenneth Kronholm (1-Bobby Shuttleworth 76'), 21-Fabian Herbers (16-Michael Azira 83'), 22-Mauricio Pineda, 27-Robert Beric

Substitutions not used: 20-Wyatt Omsberg, 24-Connor Sparrow, 25-Nicholas Slonina, 30-Christian Diaz, 33-Jeremiah Gutjahr, 34-Jonathan Jimenez, 35-Brian Gutierrez, 36-Andre Reynolds II, 37-Javier Casas, 38-Alex Monis, 39-Allan Rodriguez, Chris Brady

TOTAL SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; FOULS: 7; OFFSIDE: 2 CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 4

Referee: Michael Radchuk

Referee's Assistants: Andrew Bigelow, David Ramirez

4th Official: Osvaldo Delgado Landeros

Attendance: 12,783

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH GUILLERMO BARROS SCHELOTTO

On finishing up with the preseason:

"I think we are ready. I think the way that we improve from today, we will have to check during the season. The games like today, or the other days against Colorado, New England, Toronto, or Vancouver helped us to get better and to be in good situations to prepare us for the game against Houston, and for the whole season. Now we expect to play well and win, because that's the idea. I think today we got 90 more minutes of play, and everyone got something more that we didn't have before, and everyone is ready, everyone is on their feet. So, we need to have a good week, and try to win in Houston."

On Emiliano Insua's performance:

"He did well. What he needs to do that we were talking about was that, you are a defender, you defend the zone and the area well, and if you can appear in the offense you can go, but he came from an injury when he came from Germany, and he played 45 minutes during the week with Galaxy II, and today he almost played 80m so he's ready. He's well."

On Sacha Kljestan's preseason:

"When we brought him, we saw a lot of experience, leveled, and he's smart. He's very smart. I think one of the best things he has is that he's very smart for plays, and understanding how the game is going to come. I'm very happy with him. His preseason was very good, and if he's in a good level, I think the team will feel that."

On Jonathan Dos Santos and Efrain Alvarez's injury status:

"I think Efrain [Alvarez] will be out for two more weeks. I expect him Tuesday, training with me. Daniel [Steres] and Jonathan [Dos Santos], I don't know if they will be ready for the game in Houston, because Jonathan missed out most of the preseason. We only have one week before Houston. It's almost the same for Daniel, so I don't know if they will be ready for Houston, but we need to check during the week on how they feel."

Translated from Spanish

On the team's chemistry:

"They're understanding each other, little by little they are understating each other. They are figuring each other out with necessity, and I see them well. I believe that the team has had some really good games in the preseason. We have played five games and won three. We tied one, and the one that we lost we played with one less player for the majority of the game. With that being said, I'm happy with the results, I'm happy with the level of play that we've seen, and I think that moving forward from Sunday we'll have all the requirements for season; with how we play, with the attitude that we carry, and with the results."

On Javier Hernandez's performance:

"He's a player with a lot of qualities that is going to give us a lot of goals and a lot of success. He's always getting involved in plays. He had his chances in the first half; we have to try to find him more often. We have to try and take advantage of his quality when he's inside the box, but I see that little by little he's building chemistry with his teammates, and I see him in good form."

On Javier Hernandez's overall preseason:

"He didn't play the full 90 minutes until today. He always played 45 minutes, because he had a long period of time without training and he was sorting out his visa, and we've been building up his match fitness. he's going to be good for us against Houston, which is what we want. We're not worried at all, and I won't be worried if he doesn't score goals in season, or if he does. I think that we need to focus on the performance, attitude, and the results that the team produces more than individual performances; be it Chicharito [Javier Hernandez], [Cristian] Pavon, Giancarlo [Gonzalez], Perry [Kitchen], or the goalie, we need to focus more on the team as a whole."

LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER SACHA KLJESTAN

On if the team is ready for the MLS season:

"I think we are ready, I think physically we feel pretty good which is one of the most important things in this stage of preseason. I think we are still working on some things and figuring out what Guillermo [Barros Schelotto] has asked of us and I think we probably won't be hitting our stride for a little while which is normal in MLS. The most important thing is the later part of summer and as you get towards the playoffs any way. To keep it short, I do think we are ready for the season."

On scoring a goal tonight:

"I made a later run in the box and I think I had good timing. The ball came across and popped to me, I thought I was going to score in the first one, unfortunately the keeper saved it. It popped back to me, I laid it off to Chicharito [Javier Hernandez] who really didn't hit it clean and it kind of just came right back to me and I popped it in the net. The overall play to get down the left side and get the cross in was a really good play, some good combination and it was good that we had a lot of numbers in the box because I think we have been working on that and that if we get in the final third that we are a little bit more direct and that we do get numbers in the box. Playing like a holding midfielder in the second half to get in the box, where we probably had five guys in the box, so that is a good sign."

On his preseason performance:

"Personally I feel really good about preseason. I knew that the coaching staff was going to demand a lot from us physically so I prepared a lot for that in the offseason. It is a really long offseason, so it's annoying to try to work out on your own for three months to try to stay fit so I came in physically in good shape, got pushed a lot in the first two weeks of preseason and I think I came through it stronger so that is good. I feel like I am in really good shape right now, I feel like I am in a good zone of knowing exactly what the coaching staff wants from me and trying to implement that and also trying to be a leader and help the guys on the field, understand what we are trying to be. So I feel good and my goal is to play as many games as possible and help the team win the championship."

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