Riqui Puig fell on his face in his first Los Angeles derby

With the spotlight on the Mexican rivalry between Carlos’ candle Y Javier ‘Chicharito’ HernandezFrenchman Denis Bouanga’s brace and Colombian Cristian Arango’s 93rd-minute save gave Los Angeles FC (LAFC) a 3-2 victory over LA Galaxy in the MLS West semifinals on Thursday .

In a spirited and balanced Los Angeles derby, LAFC, where Gareth Bale was left without playing due to a minor last-minute injury that kept him out of the team, he showed more success in places in a dramatic outcome and earned the ticket for the West final, where he will face the winner of the match between Austin and Dallas. What can play a role, but not make a difference, is Riqui Puigwho once again became a starter in midfield for the Galaxy.

Chicharito’s Galaxy, with Samuel Grandsir and Dejan Joveljic scoring, gave a stunning display against the best team in the MLS regular season but paid dearly for their poor set-piece defence.

After their victory in “Traffic”, the famous name of the intense Los Angeles MLS derby, Vela’s team, who had discomfort and was replaced, continued the search for their first MLS Cup.

Galaxy surprises

Puig took the baton from midfield and the Galaxy surprised with a solid start in which they dominated an LAFC looking to pressure up front.

With plenty of tension and constant fouls at the start, the first moment of controversy came in the 12th minute when Puig confronted Murillo and hit him in the head.

The Spaniard played a red but the referee settled the incident with a yellow.

Firmer, with more control and with clearer ideas than LAFC, the Galaxy stroked the first through Grandsir, who sent the ball over the crossbar after Chicharito’s attack on the right.

Vela’s team walked without a compass, orphaned on the ball and without a spark in the counterattack.

But he was right at first that he had. LAFC had not had a braided game between the lines until then but Vela, near the edge, filtered a superb pass to Bouanga in the 23rd minute, powering past Bond.

The goal was a blow for the Galaxy, forced to come from behind in a match that started with many personalities.

But Chicharito’s men did not change their plan, they continued to control possession and the Mexican sent a left-footed shot on goal.

The deserved reward for the Galaxy’s effort came in the 44th minute when Grandsir picked up a Segura clearance from the edge of the box and sent it into the net with a superb shot.

Arango saved LAFC

With little fluidity in their play in the first half, LAFC found two fantastic chances after the restart with two headers from corner kicks by Cifuentes and Palacios.

Steve Cherundolo instructed his team to take a step forward and LAFC, now carrying the brunt of the game, showed themselves to be a more recognizable team.

One who showed no signs of life was Arango, LAFC’s leading scorer with 16 goals but was nullified by Cáceres and Coulibaly.

The Galaxy seemed to be running out of gas but Puig warned again in the 65th minute with a nice low shot.

The pace of the match suffered as the minutes wore on.

Fouls, protests, cards and interruptions accumulated over a stretch of rivalry with a perfectly balanced force.

Vela, who arrived with discomfort and only for the match, fell to the ground and Cherundolo opted to replace him in the 78th for Opoku, a substitution that the Mexican received with disappointment and anger.

But it passed quickly as from the bench he was able to celebrate Bouanga’s second goal in the 80th minute, popping up at the far post to finish off a cross from Opoku.

Only the Galaxy remained and it was there that Joveljic, a hero of comebacks and miraculous goals this year, asked for a turn and that, as soon as he stepped on the field, signed an extraordinary missile to the squad in the 85th minute to tie the match.

And just when the game seemed to go into overtime, Arango emerged again, getting a rejection in the tenth corner that was poorly defended by the Galaxy and qualifying for LAFC after an emotional battle.