CARSON, Calif.—Romain Alessandrini played an important role for the LA Galaxy in Saturday’s big win over Columbus Crew SC -- just not one he was expecting.
The Galaxy’s 2017 top scorer was placed in a reserve capacity as Ola Kamara and Giovani dos Santos returned to action. The position might have been a new one for the star Frenchman, but he flourished, scoring twice in Los Angeles’ 4-0 victory over Columbus Crew SC.
Alessandrini came on as a 60th minute sub and finished the match with a brace in just 30 minutes of play. His impact was immediate as he found the back of the net just seven minutes after he entered the game. The goal was vintage Alessandrini as his tireless work rate forced a turnover in Columbus’ defensive third before the Frenchman calmly slotted his chance past Zack Steffen.
The Frenchman doubled his tally for the night in the 92nd minute of play when he found himself in open space after a well-weighted pass from Galaxy forward Chris Pontius. Free on goal, he easily slotted it into the back of the net for the exclamation point on the team’s win.
“He came in and scored two very good goals,” Schmid said. “The second one was a great goal.”
Alessandrini’s attacking effort wasn’t all that impressed Schmid.
“He also contributed when he came in, not just on the goal, he was disciplined about helping us out defensively,” Schmid said. “I was probably equally as pleased by that as I was about his offensive display. But certainly, he gave us a really good spark off the bench.”
Despite his success as a reserve, Alessandrini admitted that he’d rather be in the squad from the get-go.
“It was the choice of the coach. Obviously, I was not happy, but I have to respect the choice,” Alessandrini said. “I tried to give everything when I came on the field.”
