How did they do? Examining the performance of the LA Galaxy's designated players against Atlanta United

For the first time since May 18th, all three LA Galaxy designated players started together against Atlanta United. As the Galaxy tried to end its slip down the Western Conference standings, coach Greg Vanney put out his strongest eleven including new signing Gaston Brugman alongside his DP trio. 

Douglas Costa appeared off the bench in his last three games since returning from injury, team captain Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez returned after being in health and safety protocols, and Kévin Cabral made his second consecutive start after a brief time starting games from the bench. The trio had started just nine out of a possible 20 games before this matchup against Atlanta. Here is a look at the performance of each of the Designated Players and how they contributed to the match.

Douglas Costa: Getting into rhythm

The Brazilian made his first start since the Galaxy’s game away to Minnesota on May 18th. After dealing with some injury setbacks, Vanney reiterated to the media that the club medical team was working to eliminate some deficiencies in his body that have kept him from playing at 100 percent. 

Costa would play on the right side of the pitch to start the game and was excellent at linking play with Julian Araujo. They connected 26 times during the game, according to MLSSoccer.com’s passing network chart. He also connected extremely well with midfielders Gaston Brugman, Mark Delgado, and Rayan Raveloson in his 64 minutes of action and only missed one pass to them. 

Costa’s passing on the night was superb. He only missed one out of his 49 passing attempts, led he team with two key passes, created two chances, had six progressive carries into the final third, made 11 progressive passes, and had an xA of 0.5. That last value is due to his pass that led to Chicharito's shot, saved by Atlanta goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo but put away by Cabral for the first goal of the match. Costa and Brugman were tied for the most balls that switched the play to the other side of the pitch with five. 

He got into one of his favorite positions to shoot, cutting inside on the outside of the box, and got a curling shot on goal but Rios Novo got a save on that shot. It would be his only shot on goal.

“Douglas [Costa] was obviously good and got some good looks and can do some things," Vanney elaborated. "Again, it was a midfield that was pretty compact and pretty tight, and he likes to come across the midfield, and sometimes to open himself up, and there just wasn’t a ton of space sometimes in that." 

He added, “We’re trying to continue to get him going, but I thought he had some good looks and some good balls, and was able to open up the field a few times, getting us from one side to the next." 

He played with the flair and quick agility that many soccer fans associate with Costa's play. He still is not able to go 90 minutes, but in his hour of activity, he made a positive impact on the team and showed there could be more of his best soccer for the LA Galaxy as the season reaches the stretch run.

Kévin Cabral: Breaking the duck

After 20 games played, 23-year-old Kévin Cabral scored his first MLS goal in the 2022 season, his first in league play since Oct. 20, 2021. Some great combination play between the Galaxy forwards and midfielders led to a Cabral tap-in on Chicharito’s saved shot.

Cabral could’ve doubled his goal tally later in the match, but failed to get the right kind of contact on Julian Araujo’s low-driven cross. There still are finishing inconsistencies he needs to work on. He finished the game with an xG of 1.4.

It was a good game for the Frenchman attacking-wise; he was tied for the team lead in shot-creating actions with three, and constantly made runs in behind Atlanta's backline. 

"The one thing you can’t take away is the sheer amount of running and work that [Cabral] does," Vanney assessed. "I mean, we miss the chances right now, he’s a player who is growing in front of the goal and he has to continue to improve, but the volume of running and his speed running, there isn’t anyone else who does that. Cabral would get the most touches in the opposition's penalty area with nine, and was behind Costa in touches in the final third with 23. 

Vanney added, regarding Cabral's running, "It opens up space for other people. We probably get six chances to, if he's not on the field, maybe two ... But there are a lot of chances that come from just a sheer, again, volume of selfless running that he’s willing to make. Also the tracking back. The picking up balls in the back press. Things like that. So, there’s a lot of work that goes in for that is kind of unsung work, but because he’s a DP, you don’t get credit for that. You get credit for the statistics." 

Vanney has continuously praised Cabral's defensive efforts. Against Atlanta, he was the only forward with double-digit press attempts (13) and they were all scattered around the pitch. With four in the attacking third, four in the middle third, and five in the defending third of the field. Note that Cabral was one of only three players to have more than four pressures in each third of the field — the other two were Mark Delgado and Rayan Raveloson.

It wasn't a perfect game for the Frenchman but something good to build upon and finally scoring in league play this year. 

Chicharito: Tactical adjustments

One of the major observations during this game was the positioning of captain Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez. With Raveloson at times playing up top, Chicharito would drift wide at times and played deeper than one would expect from a striker of his playing style. He still made his usual runs into the box, but was also helped out by Raveloson's movement in attacking the pockets of space opened by the Atlanta defense. His hold-up play was needed to get the wingers in better spots and so the Galaxy could continue to play in Atlanta's half in the first 45 minutes. Take a look at his touches heat map that showed where he would get the ball during his 75 minutes played.

Chicharito got a chance to score but his shot was too close to Atlanta's 'keeper and eventually finished off by Cabral. The shot had an xG of 0.34, the highest percentage of all shots by the Galaxy besides Cabral's goal. Chicharito would finish the game with an xG of .6 and now has an xG of 8 on the year. 

While he couldn't get on the scoresheet, his return to the locker room and his drive to motivate his teammates was appreciated after missing the last two games after being in the league's health and safety protocols. 

"[Javier Hernández] was big today again," Vanney commented. "Just the way he competes. And I’ve said this before, his passion and his emotion and the way he competes from the front to recover and hold balls, to work. It brings everybody into that frame of mind as well, when you look forward and your forward is fighting like that. Then everybody else is on that same page."