MLS
‘Chicharito’ Hernández keeps LA Galaxy’s playoff hope alive
The Mexican international scored his 15th goal of the season in the Galaxy’s 1-1 draw against the Seattle Sounders on Monday at Lumen Field.
The Los Angeles Galaxy went on the road to face the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field and earned a 1-1 draw on Monday night. Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández scored his 15th goal of the season to give his team the lead in the 19th minute. Nick DePuy flicked the ball after Sebastian Lletget took the corner kick and the Mexican international made a back-heel shot from the center of the six-yard box to beat Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Seattle responded in the 50th minute when Raul Ruidíaz scored from the penalty spot to find the back of the net. In stoppage time LA Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond was able to get enough of Xavier Arreaga’s header to push the ball onto the crossbar and help his team earn a much needed point on the road.
Bond on his save in stoppage time
“It was a good ball, it was flat and the guy just met it perfectly. It was straight on his head. It was an instinctive reaction and then I was just relieved it hit the bar and went to Nick [DePuy], who cleared it. And then I thought we were going to score. I thought we were going to score on the counter attack and that we would really be flying then. Obviously it was an important moment and an important point.”
Playoff picture in the Western Conference
Seattle have not won in their last five games, but with the point earned against the Galaxy they took the number one spot in the Western Conference with 59 points, one more than Sporting KC, and with one match left in the regular season. Also the good news for them is having Jordan Morris back, who played his first match of the campaign after recovering from a torn ACL surgery.
With one game left of the 2021 MLS regular season the LA Galaxy moved up to sixth place (47 points) in the West and they are two points behind the fourth-placed Portland Timbers. They will conclude the regular season at home on Sunday in a must-win game against Minnesota United. A tie or a defeat could leave the Galaxy out of the playoff picture for back-to-back seasons.