LA Galaxy left in space by LAFC

The two Los Angeles based soccer clubs faced off on Thursday night. The result did not exactly leave any fireworks for the Galaxy. They fell short once more to their in-city rival, 2-1.

While this game may not be a crushing blow to their season and playoff aspirations, the Los Angeles Galaxy would have benefited greatly by merging ahead of LAFC in the standings. However, instead of avenging the loss in April, it may have felt like deja vu with another 2-1 shellacking.

So, what went wrong for the Los Angeles Galaxy?

First off, the Galaxy played down one goal, and then two before the end of the first half. They never could recover from that deficit. Just like their previous contest on April 6, LAFC scored twice in the first half.

LAFC forward Denis Bouanga scored one of those goals in each game against the Galaxy. John McCarthy and the defense took +45 minutes to find their grove. Despite having a pair of second half shutouts, it was too late.

Second, the issue wasn't possession of the ball for the Galaxy. It was their efficiency scoring. In the first head-to-head matchup earlier this season, LAFC had two more shot attempts than the Galaxy. Unfortunately, only four of the 18 attempts by the Galaxy were on target, whereas nine of the 20 attempts were on target for LAFC.

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Third, the LA Galaxy lost the corner kick battle again. This time it was even worse. LAFC had 11 while the Galaxy only earned five on Thursday. During the other game against each other, LAFC has six and the Galaxy had just four.

Despite Gabriel Pec scoring in the second half against LAFC, it wasn't enough for the Galaxy to capture their tenth victory in the 'el trafico' classic series. Both LA teams now have nine wins and losses with five draws between them.

Currently sitting at third in the Western Conference standings, the LA Galaxy will face off against LAFC one last time on Saturday, September 14. With five games remaining in the month of July for the Galaxy, only one opponent has more than eight wins (Colorado Rapids).