The anticipation for this installment of El Trafico was just different. It was finally going to be Carlos Vela and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez going against each other for the first time in MLS. The longtime friends hadn’t faced off since 2013 Champions League group stage matches between Manchester United and Real Sociedad. They dominated the headlines all week from California to Mexico.
And after all that and a full 90 minutes of madness Saturday in Carson, it came down to the final moments. Deep into stoppage, time Latif Blessing silenced the sold-out crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park after scoring the equalizer in a draw … until referee Chris Penso went to video review and overturned the call due to offside.
The stadium erupted in celebration as chaos ensued and soon was brought to a conclusion. Galaxy win, 2-1, over LAFC.
As much as personnel has changed over the years, the rivalry continues delivering in the most ridiculous ways. And the one constant that remains is the Galaxy have the upper hand, with six wins to LAFC’s three in 14 all-time meetings.
How these meetings always seem to unfold is so comical it doesn’t make sense. LAFC typically play the better games, in terms of quality, chances and establishing their ideas vs. their rivals. That’s how they were under Bob Bradley, and it hasn’t changed with new head coach Steve Cherundolo. Saturday they did that for the majority of the game, yet found themselves scoreless for over 75 minutes before…