The San Jose Earthquakes were able to begin their 2024 Leagues Cup campaign with a stunning penalty kick victory over the Chivas in their first match as they looked ahead to their match vs. LA Galaxy.
This is the first edition of the California Clasico in the Leagues Cup, but the 102th time these two clubs have come together in head-to-head competitive play. so far this season the LA Galaxy have been able to defeat San Jose and all three prior meetings, giving them the full regular season sweep against the Earthquakes.
San Jose was coming into this game with tons of move momentum after pulling off the upset in front of 60,000 people just up the road in Levi’s Stadium. A lot of the implications regarding leagues cup favored San Jose and it was in their hands to control their destiny in the Leagues Cup. San Jose returned with the exact same lineup that they had against Guadalajara, but this time having William Yarbrough back in between the post for the second matchup of the Leagues Cup.
There was some questions regarding Daniel‘s benching, but William Yarbrough has played well in his matchups against other teams throughout the league this year, and has been a serviceable keeper for San Jose, in the absence of JT, Marcinowski and Daniel while he was on the sidelines due to injury. Very early in the game the LA Galaxy were able to give William Yarbrough a little trouble as there was a close call to go as Gabriel Pec and Riqui Puig I had a chance on goal in a very quick sequence in the eighth minute of the game that actually caused a minor injury to William Yarborough, but he was able to stay in the game after being attended by the medical staff of the San Jose Earthquakes.
San Jose was able to pick up where they left off from last game and really bring a different type of pressure. It was a pressure that we have not seen from San Jose in pretty much majority of their games vs. opponents this season. Benji Kikanović has been very important in on the defensive side of play, and has proven to be an excellent move for interim head coach Ian Russell. He has been able to defend well and assist on the attacking play for San Jose. Both teams had their chances throughout the first half, but he was San Jose to who seem to be able to control most of the pace of play. It remain that way all the way up until the 41st minute in which Daniel Fagúndez was able to catch the San Jose defense off-guard as he was able to connect with a strike that went right Towards the top right corner past William Yarborough.
LA Galaxy were able to head into the locker room at halftime with one nothing lead and the momentum favoring them. The game continued at the same pace as it did earlier throughout the second half, but it was clear that the possession switched to favoring Los Angeles. Riqui Puig did an excellent job, once again, commanding the middle of the field and was able to really direct the flow of the game. San Jose was able to reverse the scenario of their game against Chivas and intercepted a ball lazily played setting up a pass from Yueill to Carlos Gruezo and finally to Jeremy Ebobisse who was able to covert and level the game at one.
Shortly after the San Jose goal is when they decided to move towards the defensive approach for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately, the Earthquakes defensive let Riqui Puig do what he is known for and carve through some of the defenders to set up the game winning goal that secured LA Galaxy’s spot in the next round of Leagues Cup 2024. They finished the game mere minutes later that saw the score 2-1 as the whistle blew for the conclusion of the game.
San Jose await the conclusion of the LA Galaxy vs. Chivas match to find out if they will continue on in the Leagues Cup this year. They need a clean win, or penalty kick win from the LA Galaxy to advance into the next round of the tournament. Leagues Cup continues to grow in excitement throughout the country as teams from Liga MX and MLS continue to battle it out to see who will go into the next round. What will we see from these teams moving forward? We will find out more very soon...
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