NEW YORK – The LA Galaxy were overrun in the first half of the team's 2-1 loss to New York City FC, but the insertion of Jonathan dos Santos into a central attacking role nearly helped the Galaxy salvage a point from Yankee Stadium.
After losing Giovani dos Santos due to hamstring tightness, head coach Sigi Schmid inserted his brother Jonathan into the vacant No. 10 role allowing him more freedom to orchestrate the offense. The move paid dividends as the younger Dos Santos brother notched a goal and helped the Galaxy turn the tide after a dominant half by the home squad.
By Schmid’s admission, the Galaxy started the match focused too narrow, but after the inclusion of Dos Santos in a central role, the Mexican international was able to send passes wide and find both Sebastian Lletget and Ema Boateng in dangerous spaces. In this position, Dos Santos was nearly flawless, completing 92 percent of his passes during the period.
Dos Santos was rewarded for his performance in the second half as a pass from Boateng found the Mexican midfielder for the finish to put the Galaxy on the board. The finish was a masterful one as he was able to tap it in from a difficult angle to beat the otherwise stellar Sean Johnson.
Although Los Angeles couldn’t find their equalizer Schmid told reporters that based on Jona’s performance, he may need to consider the defensive midfielder in a more attacking role. Based on his showing in the second half, it seems that Jonathan will be well suited if a change is made.
