SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, June 7, 2023) – The LA Galaxy’s 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign came to an end with a 3-2 loss on the road to Real Salt Lake in the Quarterfinal of the competition at America First Field on Wednesday night.
LA Galaxy Against Real Salt Lake
The U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal match between the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake marked the 57th all-time meeting across all competitions between the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, with LA leading the all-time series 24-20-13. Against RSL, the Galaxy hold a 20-17-11 record in league play, a 4-1-2 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs and a 0-2-0 record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
LA Galaxy in U.S. Open Cup
The Quarterfinal matchup between the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake marked LA’s 57th all-time U.S. Open Cup contest dating back to 1999, with the club holding a record of 37-19-1 in the competition. In 28 all-time road matches played in the U.S. Open Cup, the Galaxy hold a 12-15-1 record. The Galaxy’s 2023 U.S. Open Cup campaign marks the second consecutive season that LA was eliminated from the competition in the Quarterfinal round.
Goal-Scoring Plays
RSL – Damir Kreilach (Rubio Rubin), 18th minute – Rubio Rubin’s low cross from the left side of the penalty area found Damir Kreilach, who converted from inside the six-yard box.
RSL – Damir Kreilach (Penalty Kick), 45+6th minute – After a foul was whistled inside the box, Damir Kreilach stepped up to the penalty spot and fired his shot into the left side of the goal.
RSL – Jefferson Savarino (Rubio Rubin), 51st minute – Rubio Rubin slid a pass down the left side of the of the penalty area to Jefferson Savarino, who took a touch and struck his low effort into the bottom left corner.
LA – Gastón Brugman (Penalty Kick), 82nd minute – Following a foul on Daniel Aguirre inside the box, Gastón Brugman’s ensuing penalty kick was drilled into the left side of the goal.
LA – Douglas Costa (Daniel Aguirre), 84th minute – Cutting in from the right wing, Douglas Costa’s left-footed shot from the edge of the 18-yard box was fired into the top left corner.
Postgame Notes
- The Quarterfinal matchup between the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake marked LA’s 57th all-time U.S. Open Cup contest dating back to 1999, with the club holding a record of 37-19-1 in the competition.
- In 28 all-time road matches played in the U.S. Open Cup, the Galaxy hold a 12-15-1 record.
- Additionally, LA Galaxy Head Coach and Sporting Director Greg Vanney holds a 5-2-0 record in seven all-time U.S. Open Cup matches as manager of the Galaxy.
- In three U.S. Open Cup matches played this season, the Galaxy held a 2-1-0 record (7 GF, 4 GA).
- The U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal match between the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake marked the 57th all-time meeting across all competitions between the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, with LA leading the all-time series 24-20-13.
- Notably, LA scored two goals in the span of two minutes for a second consecutive match across all competitions against RSL dating back to May 31.
- In the second half, the Galaxy outshot Real Salt Lake 13-6, recorded a 5-4 shots on target advantage and held possession for 58.1%.
- Against RSL, the Galaxy hold a 20-17-11 record in league play, a 4-1-2 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs and a 0-2-0 record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
- In three road matches played across all competitions dating back to May 23, LA holds a 2-1-0 record (7 G, 5 GA).
- In eight matches played across all competitions dating back to May 10, the LA Galaxy hold a 4-4-0 record (12 GF, 13 GA).
- Gastón Brugman tallied a penalty-kick goal for the second consecutive match across all competitions in the loss to Real Salt Lake.
- Brugman finished the match with a one goal scored, six tackles won, three interceptions, five possessions won and eight duels won against RSL.
- Douglas Costa recorded his first goal across all competitions for the Galaxy dating back to a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake at Dignity Health Sports Park on Oct. 1, 2022.
- Costa made his return from injury and his first appearance for LA since starting and playing 45 minutes against Orlando City SC on April 29.
- Riqui Puig finished the match with a game-high seven chances created.
- In his 12th appearance across all competitions this season, Daniel Aguirre recorded his first assist of the 2023 campaign.
- Jonathan Klinsmann recorded six saves for a second consecutive U.S. Open Cup match in the Quarterfinal Round loss to Real Salt Lake.
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Next Game
*Next up, the LA Galaxy return to league action by traveling to face St. Louis CITY SC at CITYFIELD on Sunday, June 11. The match on June 11 kicks off at 10:00 a.m. PT and will be broadcasted live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and FOX.
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2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – Quarterfinal Round
LA Galaxy at Real Salt Lake *
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 – America First Field (Sandy, Utah)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
LA Galaxy 0 2 2
Real Salt Lake 2 1 3
Scoring Summary:
RSL: Kreilach (Rubin), 18
RSL: Kreilach (penalty kick), 45+6
RSL: Savarino (Rubin), 51
LA: Brugman (penalty kick), 82
LA: Costa (Aguirre), 84
Misconduct Summary:
RSL: Glad (caution), 32
RSL: Kreilach (caution), 56
LA: Neal (caution), 59
RSL: Eneli (caution), 61
Lineups:
LA: GK Jonathan Klinsmann; D Calegari, D Jalen Neal (Chris Mavinga, 74), D Martín Cáceres, D Julián Aude (Raheem Edwards, 62), M Mark Delgado (Daniel Aguirre, 62), M Gastón Brugman, M Riqui Puig, M Tyler Boyd, M Gino Vivi (Douglas Costa, 62); F Javier “Chicharito” Hernández © (Dejan Joveljić, 27)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Jonathan Bond; D Kelvin Leerdam
TOTAL SHOTS: 20 (Gastón Brugman, Tyler Boyd, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Gastón Brugman, Douglas Costa, 2); FOULS: 12 (Three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 6
RSL: GK Gavin Beavers; D Bryan Oviedo (Braian Ojeda, 66), D Marcelo Silva, D Justen Glad, D Andrew Brody; M Pablo Ruiz (Jasper Loffelsend, 86), M Damir Kreilach ©, M Emeka Eneli, M Andres Gomez (Bode Hidalgo, 83), M Jefferson Savarino (Maikel Chang, 66); F Rubio Rubin (Anderson Julio, 67)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Zac MacMath; D Brayan Vera
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Damir Kreilach, 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (Damir Kreilach, 5); FOULS: 14 (Andres Gomez, 5); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 4
Referee: Ramy Touchan
Assistant Referees: Cameron Blanchard, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Brad Jensen
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 75 degrees
Attendance: 20,712
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
LA GALAXY POSTGAME QUOTES
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH AND SPORTING DIRECTOR GREG VANNEY
On the difference between the two halves and the response from his side in the second half:
“I think in the first half, again, just a little bit disjointed in our possessions defensively I think we were a little too opened up. Conceded too much of the middle at times. And some of our, just individual defending, I didn’t think was great. We were getting pulled out of spaces and allowing guys to get in behind us. All that being said, it was essentially 1-0, and we didn’t have a ton of good chances in the first half. But, again, we weren’t controlling the middle of the field and we weren’t getting ourselves across the field in some of our attack. Sometimes because of the way we were opened up defensively, we were too far away from each other. We were rushing things forward a little bit too much. I thought the second half was the opposite. I thought we were a little more connected in terms of our spacing. So, it allowed us to control the middle of the park a little more. Which meant we recovered balls better, we were closer to help each other, and I felt like we did a better job – for most of the half – not forcing things straight forward. We would work more at angles instead of vertically. And I think that started to open up opportunities for us and we were able to build some numbers into our attacks, and we were able to create some good chances. But, I think, you know, at 1-0, I think, honestly, I think the penalty is a disaster for us, because I think the referee was looking for it. He warned Julián [Aude] twice. He’s saying it, it’s not anything that doesn’t happen on every corner kick, where guys are jockeying and working for every position and they’re in the body and all that kind of stuff, but I think he was just looking for it. His eyes were on it, and he was just looking for something to call and he picked something out and he made a call. A little bit of a different chase than at 1-0. Having said that, it went to three, and we still were able to work ourselves back into it and have a shot with some chances in the latter part of the second half to get ourselves back into things. I thought there were, especially in the second half, some positive moments in some of our attacking, our ball movement, the way we were working across the field. And defensively, I thought we were better. At winning the spaces in the middle of the field in the second half, so that helped us to control the game a little better.”
On Javier “Chicharito” Hernández’s status:
“Nothing more than I think it’s a right knee issue that we don’t know until we get an MRI to see where it’s at. So, fingers are crossed, but we don’t know yet, where we’re at or dealing with.”
\On Gastón Brugman creating a spark with the penalty kick, and if he is finding consistency with him in that spot of taking them and the midfield not having as much control in the first half as would be ideal: \
“I think, again, the midfield, I thought, defensively, when we don’t get pressure to the ball, they push a ton of numbers high and we started to get spread out. Our wingers started to get, both, pretty wide, and then it becomes a lot of territory for our two defensive midfielders are double pivots, to kind of cover that space. And then when we cover the ball, we’re also pretty far apart from each other. So, in those transition moments, I thought we played so vertically at times, that we don’t allow ourselves the opportunity to establish control of the game, control of the ball, control of the midfield. Those kinds of things. And, I thought that was a big chunk of some of our disconnect in the first half. And I thought we cleaned that up in the second half. And, also in the second half, when we were closer together, we saw some step outs from Gastón [Brugman] where he really showed some aggressive stepping forward. Whether that was closing, or getting involved in the attack. He started to kind of power us a little bit forward, too, with Riqui [Puig] who was able to find good spots and build some speed at the backline. I thought we built some momentum through the course of that game, or through the course of the second half. And a lot of it just had to do with we were just more connected. And we weren’t as vertical. We were bringing each other into the game. We were working into the field and bringing more numbers into the attack, instead of trying to do it all in just two or three passes.”
On Douglas Costa getting minutes on the field, a goal and the confidence he has in his form once he continues to clock in minutes on the field:
“I thought he came on and he looked sharp. There’s no denying his quality. You see it when he plays. And, you know, what we want to keep Douglas [Costa] doing inside of it, is keeping him dynamic. Where he’s moving off the ball. Where he’s moving with the ball. He’s building some tempo into our attacks, that, tonight he had a wonderful finish that he’s capable of doing. He did that off of the acceleration to get back to the inside and open up his left foot for a shot. So, it’s continuing to get just consistency from him, which will allow him to build up his fitness levels to be able to do those types of things, and stay dynamic and stay playing through every transition and every possession and every defensive moment. And that’s going to be him staying healthy. It's going to be him continuing to build on those minutes. And it’s going to be on him when he gets his minutes to really focus on staying, again, staying dynamic and being able to be a difference maker. But. I thought his entrance helped change the game. Honestly. It helped change the game. It also gives us a payer, in this game, with a left foot, who can get us going from right to left. I feel like in the early part of the season, we’ve been so left to right, and this gives us a different look because we can also take our game back to the left more, which hopefully will bring a little bit more balance into some of our attacks. And, like I said, build us across the field. But, I thought his entrance was good. And his 30 minutes were solid. We’ve got to keep building on that and we’ve got to see it with consistency match after match. For me, quality wise, there’s no doubt he can impact every time he comes in if all the right told and efforts and energies, and all those things are put out there every single time, and he’s in the right fitness level. All that stuff. He was solid at the end of the year last year. We just need to get him going and we need to keep him healthy and, like I said, build up his fitness.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER GASTÓN BRUGMAN (Spanish with English Translation)
On his penalty-kick goal sparking a comeback but ultimately falling short:
“The truth is, in the first half we gave it away. They played more intensely and found a goal, which was that PK [penalty kick]… which I saw that replay and I don’t know if that was a PK. But before our PK in the second half, I think we did have some chances and the team tried. I think we had a good second half and we want to stay with that in our heads.
On the team’s motivation for the rest of the season after being eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup:
“The motivation is that we are in last place and there’s not a ton of people that believe in this team, but I believe in this team and I think motivation comes game after game. We have to give everything and look for that playoff spot. We have to stick together, be united and I believe in this team and I think we’re going to get out of this.”
On Chicharito’s injury and how it affects the team:
“First off, Chicha [Chicharito] is fundamental for us, not just on the field but also in the locker room. We hope it’s nothing major and that he can be back with us soon. He’s very, very important for us and I’d like to add that I’m very happy to have Douglas [Costa] back on the field. Obviously, super sad about Chicha, but happy to have Douglas back.”
On the June 21st match against Sporting Kansas City and having the supporters’ groups back:
“We missed them and we need them. They’re fundamental for us at home and we all need to pull in the same direction and we need their help and look forward to seeing them there on June 21st.”