MLS LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy Stretch Unbeaten Run to Three Matches with Draw against Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field on Saturday Night

April 17, 2022 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


CHICAGO - Playing their fourth road match of the 2022 season, the LA Galaxy battled Chicago Fire FC to a 0-0 draw in front of 30,282 fans at Soldier Field on Saturday night.

LA Galaxy Against Chicago Fire FC

Saturday's match marked the 45th all-time regular-season meeting between LA and Chicago, with the Galaxy leading the series 22-15-8. Dating back to Sept. 4, 2010, LA is unbeaten in its last 12 regular-season matches played against the Fire (7-0-5), outscoring Chicago 21-9 during that span. In 23 road matches played against Chicago, the Galaxy hold a record of 10-9-4. In 14 matches managed against Chicago, LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney holds a 8-1-5 record.

Galaxy Unbeaten Run

The Galaxy extended their unbeaten run in league play to three matches (2-0-1) dating back to April 3, outscoring their opponents 5-2 during that span. LA improved to 1-0-1 in two matches played on the road against Eastern Conference opponents this year.

Postgame Notes

The LA Galaxy improved to 4-2-1 during the 2022 campaign, sitting in third place in the Western Conference standings.

LA earned its third shutout in the seventh game of 2022 MLS Regular Season.

The Galaxy's six goals allowed ranks tied for the fourth fewest in MLS this season.

Tonight's draw marked the Galaxy's first tie of the season.

LA improved to 2-1-1 in four matches played on the road in 2022.

The Galaxy improved to 1-0-1 in two matches played on the road against Eastern Conference opponents this year.

Saturday's match marked the 45th all-time regular-season meeting between LA and Chicago, with the Galaxy leading the series 22-15-8.

Dating back to Sept. 4, 2010, LA is unbeaten in its last 12 regular-season matches played against the Fire (7-0-5), outscoring Chicago 21-9 during that span.

In 23 road matches played against Chicago, the Galaxy hold a record of 10-9-4.

In LA's last six matches played on the road against Chicago dating back to April 17, 2011, the Galaxy have gone undefeated with a 3-0-3 record.

In 14 matches managed against Chicago, LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney holds a 8-1-5 record.

The match against Chicago marked the first time in Galaxy history where both teams did not record a single shot on goal.

LA held Chicago to no shots on target in the scoreless draw. The last time the Galaxy have not faced a shot on target was a 4-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC on May 26, 2013.

Jonathan Bond registered his seventh career shutout for the Galaxy.

Bond's seven career shutouts ranks tied for ninth in Galaxy history with former goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

Julián Araujo finished the match with a game-high three chances created.

Mark Delgado finished the match with a team-high four interceptions and 12 possessions gained.

Samuel Grandsir has played in 41 consecutive matches for the Galaxy dating back to April 18, 2021.

Next Game

Next up, the Galaxy begin their 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign by playing host to USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC at Dignity Health Sports Park on Tuesday, April 19. The April 19 match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on ESPN+. .

LA Galaxy (4-2-1, 13pts) at Chicago Fire FC (2-1-4, 10pts)

April 16, 2022 - Soldier Field (Chicago)

Goals by Half 1 2 F

LA Galaxy 0 0 0

Chicago Fire FC 0 0 0

Scoring Summary:

None

Misconduct Summary:

CHI: Czichos (caution), 24

LA: Williams (caution), 38

CHI: Pineda (caution), 44

CHI: Gimenez (caution), 49

CHI: Navarro (caution), 69

LA: Coulibaly (caution), 76

Lineups:

LA: GK Jonathan Bond; D Julián Araujo (Sacha Kljestan, 88), Séga Coulibaly, Derrick Williams, Raheem Edwards; Kelvin Leerdam, Rayan Raveloson, Mark Delgado; Douglas Costa (Kévin Cabral, 72), Samuel Grandsir (Efraín Álvarez, 45); Javier "Chicharito" Hernández ©

Substitutes Not Used: GK Jonathan Klinsmann; D Nick DePuy, D Eriq Zavaleta; M Daniel Aguirre, M Jonathan Pérez; F Dejan Joveljić

TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Douglas Costa, Chicharito, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 0 (0); FOULS: 12 (Julián Araujo, 3) OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 0

CHI: GK Gabriel Slonina; D Boris Sekulcic, D Jonathan Bornstein, D Rafael Czichos, D Miguel Navarro, D Wyatt Omsberg, D Mauricio Pineda; M Gaston Gimenez, M Federico Navarro, M Stanislov Ivanov; F Kacper Przybylko (Jhon Duran, 77)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Spencer Richey; D Carlos Teran, D Kendall Burks; M Javier Casos; F Victor Bezerra, F Chinonso Offor

TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Jonathan Bornstein, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 0 (0); FOULS: 10 (Stanislov Ivanov, Gaston Gimenez, 3) OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 0

Referee: Ted Unkel

Assistant Referees: Ian Anderson, Ryan Graves

Fourth Official: Lukasz Szpala

VAR: Alejandro Mariscal

Weather: Cloudy, 40 degrees

Attendance: 30,282

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial

LA GALAXY POSTGAME QUOTES

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH GREG VANNEY

On his thoughts from the scoreless draw:

"I thought we battled it's a tough field, bordering on a pasture a little bit. Tough to play on. Narrow, 70 yards, really tight spaces. They're an aggressive pressing team once you play forward. So it was a tough game because it wasn't really conducive to playing fast for guys. Tough game and I thought we battled. I thought we should have a handball called in the first half, but what do I know? I don't know what handball is anymore. And possibly a goal in the second half on a four minute, clear and obvious offside. And last time I checked four minutes to figure something out isn't clear and obvious. So it's frustrating. But for the guy's work and they battled... Tough conditions. As I said to them, I wish we would have played forward a little bit more and played quickly forward so we could we could try to spend a little bit more time in the attacking half of the field. But, we didn't. We were trying to secure the ball and play. And the conditions didn't make for a great day for something like that. And it's tough to play in the opposition's half when they're just smashing long balls into your half the field and you're having to deal with it. No matter what, they're going they're to put the ball back in your half the field and it's not necessarily through passing; it's just launching balls up to the forward. It became a challenge, but this group showed resiliency and it showed, on the road on a tough day, the ability to put two balls in the back of the net even though we didn't get it. But also just to see the game out... I thought we defended set pieces really well today. They're are a big team and I thought we handled a lot of things really well on the defensive set piece side. I was proud of the guys today. Again, it's a good point on the road."

On whether or not he's participated in a game where there were no shots on goal:

"No. We lost a championship to a team that had no shots on goal in 120 minutes. But I've never been a part of one, where neither team had shots on goal."

On Douglas Costa's performance against Chicago:

"It's just getting accustomed to the league, and all of these games are different. Probably more so than any league in the in the world just based off the travel, the conditions, the way every team plays so differently sometimes. For today, I thought in the first half we had a hard time finding him with consistency where we want to find him. In the second half, I thought we put him in some positions to face forward and make a difference. It was tough for guys who want to dribble or who playmake from those types of position because the field was bouncy and it was not easy. But I thought he took up some good positions. I thought he found some good balls when we were able to get him facing forward and looking at their back line. It was good for him to get 60 minutes back under his belt because it's finding a little bit of rhythm for him after the break from the injury that he had. So it was nice, but this was a tough game for everybody. Just the conditions and the speed at which pressure was showing up and how aggressive they are at stepping and pressing; it became a challenging game for everybody. But he certainly found some moments to impact."

On the status of Víctor Vázquez:

"Víctor had a grade-one hamstring issue. It was just in the preparation for this game... Very innocuous situation where he went to strike a ball across the field and it kind of grabbed on him. So not available for this one and we'll see how it progresses towards the towards the end of the week."

LA GALAXY DEFENDER DERRICK WILLIAMS

On how the team held together, especially in the second half:

"I thought we did a good job. I thought everyone did. We defended as a team really well and we defended set pieces is really well. They are a good team and I thought we won our headers and it's a difficult place to play. It was freezing cold. It was very windy. The pitch wasn't great. And so yeah, very happy with our clean sheet."

On Jonathan Bond's save in the 60th minute:

"Oh, it was brilliant. Pretty much, it's good to trust the keeper. And so when he broke through, in my head I'm thinking, Bond can save this. Just because how good he's been since he's been a Galaxy. He did so well to come out. Maybe that the striker made a decision and he read it perfectly. And it was a massive save. Brilliant from him to keep the game zero to zero."

On what was the most difficult thing about going against Chicago Fire's high press and what the team should have done to defeat it:

"I just felt that we needed to be more patient and let them run more. So, when we were passing out of the back, we kind of forced a couple and I thought if we made three or four more passes, that's when the strikers get fed up and they kind of stop running as much. And there was a few times in the first half we needed to do that, just to tire them out and then we could get across the lines. But when you come to a place like here, pitch wasn't great at all and I thought we did really well to weather that storm. They went on top a couple of times and I thought we defended really well and kept them quiet."

On whether his role changes at all when paired with Séga Coulibaly or Nick DePuy:

"No, I approach every game the same. They are both two good players, so I don't change my game at all. And yeah, they are both two solid players and I feel like I bounce off both of them really well. So no, I don't change my game."

On the difference in the defensive line from last year to this year:

"Yes, there is. I think from day one, the gaffer came in and said look if you're not going to defend, you're not going to be in the team. And he laid down that foundation early, I really felt like it was a massive incentive to everyone and because defenders, it's not just the backline, it's the whole team. You can't defend with just four or five players; you need a minimum of nine players in front of your defense. Sometimes you can get away with your striker not defending as much, and I felt like this year we've been a lot more connected front to back, good spacing, and people working hard to get across the pitch quickly and the two center midfielders, do a great job, Mark [Delgado] and Rayan [Raveloson]. And yeah, it's been a lot better and hopefully it can continue."

LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER MARK DELGADO

On the halftime chat and what changed in the second half:

"We put Kelvin [Leerdam] at right back and moved Julian [Araujo] in a little higher. Kept me tied, brought down Rayan [Raveloson] to help out and just, you know, have a cleaner rotation in there. Really tried to win the midfield, because they're lumping a lot of balls forward. It was a long day of just, you know, trying to react and win second balls off of their forwards. And, you know, Derrick [Williams] and Sega [Coulibaly] did a great job back there. And, you know, me and Ryan just had to really react and, you know, it's kind of how it is. It was a day, if you won the midfield, you control the game or have most of the ball. So, you know, me and Rayan were just covering as much ground as we could. Given, I don't know how many times they hit a long ball."

On the progress that needs to be made and how this team can work on building up from the midfield:

"I would say given the conditions of today, the field feel wasn't great. It was very bumpy. I feel like, included myself, a lot of guys were really, you know, the ball was bouncing everywhere, so we were really just trying to control the ball. Not really trying to give the ball away, conditions were tough to play. Just to play and keep the ball on the ground just because it was bouncing all over the place. So, I mean, it was it was a tough day, tough conditions overall. We didn't have many shots on target or many chances. But you know, we did have that one chance that was called offside which a great buildup play from the back, through the midfield, across the field and then straight down the middle, right. But unfortunately, it was called offsides. So that shows that we can play, just given the conditions It was pretty tough to play on the ground today."

On what was so difficult that Chicago did tonight and what the LA Galaxy weren't doing:

"I think we weren't moving for one another quick enough. You know, they were changing their tempo and pressing us. And I think we weren't moving, creating space for one another as quick as we should. You know, it was kind of late. So, you know, every time we receive the ball on the midfield, we already had a man on our back, if we received the ball on the midfield, we didn't have an option to play to, so I mean, second half we picked it up, but yet they definitely came out going forward in the beginning of the game. just throwing everyone forward."

On whether he's ever taken part in a game with no shots on goal by either team:

"It's one of those days where it's not going to be pretty football. They're home but then again they put everyone behind the ball to not give up a goal. So, I mean, it's the way they want to play. Given the circumstances I feel like we did an okay job. We obviously can do better but we are happy to take home a point and move on forward and continue building because it wasn't an easy game by any means."

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