The decision to start Gareth Bale backfires for LAFC

Los Angeles Football Club suffered their second consecutive defeat on Friday night after falling 4-1 to Austin FC at Q2 stadium. LAFC now has a record of 18 wins, three draws and six defeats for 57 points with seven games left in the regular season.

Gareth Bale made his first start in Major League Soccer and things didn’t go as planned for the Welshman with the keen golfer having a disappointing night. The 33-year-old played alongside ‘Chicho’ Arango and Carlos Vela in the attacking trio but failed to make an impact before being subbed off in the 60th minute. Bale seemed lost, missed a shot on goal and had a pass completion rate of 80 per cent.

LAFC can’t afford another setback

Despite the defeat, the Los Angeles-based club remains in first place in the overall Major League Soccer standings but now they only have a six-point lead over Philadelphia Union (Eastern Conference) and Austin FC (Western Conference) in the race to win the 2022 Supporters’ Shield.

“The way we lost is not good but the timing is good because we have seven games left before playoffs,” said LAFC captain Carlos Vela after the game on Friday. “In the playoffs we can’t have this type of game so we have to learn from this and if we have to be a really good team we have to be ready and show that we want to win the Championship.”

LAFC has qualified to the playoffs every campaign since 2018, when they made their debut in MLS, but they have failed to win the title each year. The ‘Black & Gold’ have suffered two Round One exits and lost once in the Conference Finals, against the Seattle Sounders in 2019. They will return to action in another road game against Houston Dynamo on 31 August at PNC Stadium.