Chicharito misses another PK but Riqui Puig came to the rescue
The Mexican international missed his second consecutive penalty kick in the Los Angeles Galaxy road tie against Nashville SC.
The Los Angeles Galaxy are running our of time in their aspirations to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The team with the most league titles suffered another setback in their visit to Nashville on Saturday at Geodis Park and Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández missed another penalty kick that could have changed the course of the game.
Hany Mukhtar, one of the top contenders to win the MVP award, gave Nashville SC the lead in the 28th minute and the Galaxy struggled to find the equalizer. The visiting side kept pushing and they had the opportunity to tie the game in the 55th minute via penalty kick and once again Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández stepped up to the challenge.
The Mexico international wanted to leave the criticism behind after a Panenka penalty miss a week ago in the 2-2 draw against Sporting Kansas City that could’ve given the Galaxy the much needed three points at Dignity Health Sports Park. So Chicharito stepped up to the spot once again but his shot was blocked by Joe Willis, his second consecutive miss.
Riqui Puig saved the day
It seemed that the Galaxy were going to walk out with zero points and see their playoff hopes vanish for the second season in a row. The team with the most league titles kept pushing and the referee awarded another PK for the Galaxy following a handball from Walker Zimmerman in stoppage time on Chicharito’s shot.
The Video Review checked the play and confirmed the handball and Zimmerman was sent off because he was awarded a second yellow card. This time Riqui Puig grabbed the ball and stepped up to the challenge to rescue a much needed point for the Galaxy. The 23-year-old knew there was no room for error and in the 99th minute made a powerful right footed shot from 12 yards to tie the game.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Riqui Puig scoring his second MLS goal, and this leaves the Galaxy in a delicate situation. This was their third straight draw for the team with the most league titles and they sit in eight place in the Western Conference and two points behind a playoff position with five games left in the regular season.