CARSON, Calif. – Landon Donovan was quick to praise the progression of LA Galaxy striker Giovani dos Santos after the Mexican scored the lone in the LA Galaxy’s 1-0 Western Conference Semifinal victory over the Colorado Rapids.
Dos Santos provided the goal, but more so than in any match he’s played previously, he was an asset on the defensive side of the ball. Throughout the game, Dos Santos’ defense proved to a handful for the Rapids, as the Mexican international repeatedly pressured Colorado high up the field to force turnovers.
Although Dos Santos’ defense has been considered a low point of his game, Donovan believes that the Mexican striker has turned it around in recent weeks.
“He’s been excellent. And he’s not necessarily the Gio you saw at points of the year where he’s scoring a goal, getting two assists, scoring two goals, things like that,” Donovan said. “But his work rate has been terrific, and he put in a lot of work over the last two games this week. I’m not sure he’s worked that hard in a long time, and he was tired after the game, you can see it.
“But he’s doing it because he knows it helps the team win. So when we comes back and defends, when he gets in good spots and puts the other team under pressure, it really helps us. And then his attacking abilities, I don’t need to talk about them. Everyone knows what those are.”
