Riqui Puig said “I play for experiences, not for money” after his team’s 2-1 victory, LA Galaxy, in the derby against Los Angeles FC (LAFC), held this Tuesday night at the iconic Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena (California, USA). The match, where the historic attendance record for an MLS game was also broken with 82,110 spectators, made the Catalan footballer cheer like he was “a child”.
“Every player wants to be in these matches. I don’t play for money, but for these experiences (…) I had fun as a little boy and I think I gave a good level , ” insisted Puig, who was the highlight of the match with a goal and an assist.
The last goal of the Los Angeles derby, known as ‘El trafico’, ended with the former Barça midfielder himself, who finished from point-blank range, and with a single miss from the goalkeeper, a braided play on the counterattack in the 73rd minute of the game.
During the celebration, the former Barcelona player, who almost ran to the far corner where the most passionate LA Galaxy fans were, pointed again to his number 6 shirt in a gesture reminiscent of the controversy that arose in the last game between LAFC.
He wanted to repeat the gesture but stopped himself.
Afterwards, he celebrated his goal by taking off his shirt and showing his number to LAFC fans, an image similar to Messi’s in 2017, when celebrating a 2-3 victory for Barcelona at the Bernabéu, and which angered the rival defender. Giorgio Chiellini to the point where the Italian called Puig a “clown” in the press area. “I was dying to do the same thing, but I had a yellow card and I cannot miss the next game,” said Puig when asked why he did not repeat the gesture.
In addition to scoring his fourth goal in the Galaxy jersey, Riqui Puig was the most outstanding footballer, becoming a real headache for the midfield and defense of Los Angeles FC. “I like to play with pressure and derbies. Now it has been shown. (…) The atmosphere was brutal, we are the city’s team and I am very happy to belong to the Galaxy,” he said.
Along these lines, he added that, although LAFC is third in the standings and the Galaxy remain in thirteenth position, they have shown “better” than their rivals when they face each other and he confidently “get over bad streak and get into. the playoffs.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
