NEW YORK – Jonathan dos Santos flourished in a new position during Sunday’s match against New York City FC.
The Galaxy may have fallen 2-1 to NYCFC at Yankee Stadium, but head coach Sigi Schmid may have discovered an unlikely attacking weapon.
After Giovani dos Santos went down with hamstring tightness at the start of the second half, Jonathan was thrust into the No. 10 role as the Galaxy sought to erase a two-goal deficit. The 27-year-old thrived in the position as he tallied a goal and provided a needed offensive conduit as Los Angeles sought to claw their way back into the game.
“We played him in Gio’s role, and I thought that he did well,” Schmid said. “He was active and busy, plus he makes very smart runs as well. That might be a role that we have to look at him for going forward.”
As for dos Santos’ opinion, the defensive midfielder stated that he'd be ready to take the role if called on by his head coach.
“I felt good. I am of course more used to playing a little bit behind. I like both positions, and I feel like when I play a little bit further back, I like to play by myself and control the game. In the end, I am very comfortable playing with Perry [Kitchen] as well as Servando [Carrasco], with Gio when he plays in front of me. In the end, the important thing is that the team is united, and that we are all on the same page. I feel comfortable playing in both positions.”
