TUCSON, Ariz. – The LA Galaxy fell 3-1 to Real Salt Lake in their first preseason match of the 2018 campaign.
Michael Ciani scored the lone goal of the Galaxy before Salt Lake scored three unanswered goals to defeat Sigi Schmid’s squad. The Galaxy used three different teams during the match with each playing 30 minutes.
The Galaxy took the lead three minutes into their second stanza when a free kick by Sebastian Lletget found the head of Ciani for the team’s only goal of the afternoon. The match was Lletget’s first minutes on the field since suffering a Lisfranc injury last March.
Salt Lake leveled the score in the 51st minute when Sebastian Saucedo notched a penalty after Video Review determined that Galaxy defender Emrah Klimenta tripped up an attacker in the penalty area. Just five minutes later, the Utahans took the lead for good when Nick Besler parried home a rebound after a Brian Sylvestre save.
In the final 30 minutes, Schmid trotted out the team’s youngest group, composed primarily of LA Galaxy II players, academy products, and draft selections. The Galaxy’s youngsters were unable to stop a fresher Salt Lake squad as Sebastian Velasquez added a third for Real with a tally in the 77th minute.
The Galaxy will train in Arizona for the next two days before returning to Southern California. They’ll return to the field on Saturday when they host New York City FC at StubHub Center.
Lineup
David Bingham; Rolf Feltscher, Jorgen Skjelvik, Daniel Steres, Ashley Cole; Perry Kitchen, Jonathan dos Santos; Romain Alessandrini, Giovani dos Santos, Ema Boateng; Ola Kamara
Second Lineup
Brian Sylvestre; Emrah Klimenta, Dave Romney, Michael Ciani, Hugo Arellano; Sebastian Lletget, Baggio Husidic, Servando Carrasco; Chris Pontius; Ulysses Llanez, Efrain Alvarez
Third Lineup
Justin Vom Steeg; Nate Shultz, Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Jefrey Payeras, Adrian Vera; Miguel Aguilar, João Pedro, Alex Mendez, Julian Buscher; Justin Dhillon, Ethan Zubak
