The Season Opener for the San Jose Earthquakes had all the buzz and excitement that you can ask for to start the season. For the first time, the home opener for San Jose was against the LA Galaxy adding another match up to add to their Cali Clasico rivalry. San Jose returned home after a last second defeat against FC Dallas, as the LA Galaxy travel up north after a draw against Inter Miami after a Lionel Messi equalizer.
Although the season has just started there is already buzz for both squads entering the year. Last year, the LA Galaxy played below par, due to many injuries and line up shuffling, but they showed some promise towards the end of the season. This year they have made some made changes, and quietly brought in some major additions that have already flourished in the pre-season at the Coachella Invitational and in their first match up of the season against Inter Miami. For San Jose, the team made some changes as we saw some starters to part the club, but there were some new additions that filled in the holes that came during the transfer market.
Both teams were able to show some early promise even after the first week, and although they had different results, they looked forward to this rival rematch up in San Jose.
San Jose head coach Luchi Gonzalez mentioned earlier in the week that the goal was to incorporate some of the off-season signings into the A squad, and we got the first official glimpse of that in their match up against the Los Angeles Galaxy. We saw Pellegrino get his name added to the starting squad, and he did have some bright moments getting the ball into position to create goal opportunities, and we even saw a goal scored by former Los Angeles Galaxy player Preston Judd. It appears that the team is still adjusting to their new additions, but there is a bit of promise to look forward to with how things can improve. They need to take more chances in front of goal, because they seem to have a conservative touch in front of goal and seem to be relying on the cross to create their chances. This is similar to how they operated last season with former Earthquakes and now Chivas player Cade Cowell.
The Los Angeles Galaxy seemed continued their momentum from their game against Lionel Messi, and Inter Miami by showcasing precision in many forms. Riqui Puig is a name that will always be talked about as he had a great game, but for me the player that the eyes should be on moving forward for LA is Joseph Paintsil. Every time he was on ball he exploded with speed, and he was making an impact. He finished the night with a goal, and an assist to help the Galaxy maintain a lead over San Jose. Joveljic and Riqui Puig continued to showcase their power as a duo as they advanced to create chances, and also contributed to their teams lead. Puig scored a goal, and Joveljic had a goal of his own and assisted the Riqui Puig goal.
The Galaxy held their own in a game they could have won against Inter Miami, and they showcased their strength on the field with a dominant win against their Northern California rival. Although true Earthquakes scored a goal late, they couldn’t come back to overcome their three goal deficit against the Galaxy.