Kryptonite in Levi's Stadium: San Jose hands LAFC its first loss of the MLS season

San Jose proved to be the kryptonite for LAFC once again on Saturday evening at Levi’s Stadium.

The Black and Gold have now lost five consecutive away matches to the Earthquakes — the longest streak for LAFC against any team in the club’s six-year history.

LAFC entered the match as the only unbeaten team left in MLS, accruing 18 points, the most ever for a defending MLS Cup Champion through eight matches. If they were to have drawn or won Saturday, LAFC would’ve become only the third team in MLS history to go unbeaten in ten consecutive away games. Unfortunately, it was not to be for the defending champions, handed their first loss of the 2023 MLS season before one of the biggest crowds to see a league game all season.  

As billed, the game was a battle between two of the MVP candidates in Major League Soccer: Cristian Espinoza vs. Denis Bouanga. In the end, the game was decided by these two alone, with Espinoza’s brace trumping Bouanga’s lone goal. Both superstars are now level with Jordan Morris for the MLS Golden Boot lead, having each scored eight league goals — and Espinoza may have captured the attention of some league voters who still had Espinoza under their radars. 

Indeed, you can't win 'em all

Watching LAFC roll through 14 games in all competitions with only one defeat — a CCL Round of 16 second-leg loss to Alajuelense that didn't affect LAFC's march to the final — some wondered if LAFC was indeed invincible.

The answer is officially "no." 

Fatigue finally caught up with LAFC players, looking lethargic in the biggest moments of the match in Santa Clara. This was first evident in the starting XI. Giorgio Chiellini and Jesús Murillo missed the match due to leg injuries while Kellyn Acosta, Ryan Hollingshead, and Kwadwo Opoku were given rests on the bench before coming on late.

“The performance was okay," LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo assessed in response to my question after the match. "It looked to me, a little bit mentally and physically fatigued in the moments where the game is decided. That’s in the final thirds." 

This fatigue was evident in both goals. The first resulted from Ilie Sánchez uncharacteristically losing the ball to Carlos Gruezo in the center circle, which left Sergi Palencia way out of position. San Jose recognized the mistake, feeding left winger Cade Cowell to attack a vacant right side for LAFC. What resulted was a series of slow defensive actions and failed marking as the Quakes pulled the LAFC backline apart.

Maldonado was slow stepping out to Cowell, allowing a pass to striker Jeremy Ebobisse that pulled center back Aaron Long over as a second defender. As the LAFC back line continued to be pulled to the right by San Jose, Mointero received the ball from Ebobisse, pulling left back Diego Palacios centrally in an attempt to prevent a top-of-the-box shot. In a domino effect, LAFC were dragged horizontally, slow to close each time, and were punished by Espinoza being left as the open man. Just over seven minutes into the match, it was 1-0 to San Jose.

The physical fatigue, leading to slow closing down, plus the mental fatigue of failing to recover positionally left Cherundolo frustrated. 

The second goal was equally as frustrating, with Denil Maldonado going in for an unnecessary challenge from behind on Ebobisse in the penalty area. Maldonado wouldn’t have been put in that position, however, had Palacios not been caught too high up, forcing Long to again be dragged across where he was again slow to react. 

You can easily see why Cherundolo was frustrated with the big-moment mistakes in Santa Clara.

Bouanga: Is he the Energizer Bunny? 

The only player on the team who doesn’t seem to be affected by fatigue is Denis Bouanga. The Gabonese winger's ability to play in every single game without needing a day off is a big reason why he is now the Golden Boot leader in both MLS and CCL. 

Not only does Bouanga have the most league minutes of any player on the team, but he also played a full 90 minutes on international duty for Gabon in March. Bouanga took a 13-hour flight each way to ensure playing time in both Saturday league games, either side of his midweek trip to Africa. Of course, less than four hours after stepping off that plane at LAX, he was at BMO Stadium scoring an already-lengedary game-winning goal against FC Dallas.

This rat race is nothing new for Bouanga, who was never an unused substitute during his three seasons playing for St. Etienne in France. In fact, Bouanga was only rested for six league games, missing another two on international duty, throughout the 114 league matches he was eligible for Les Verts.

“It’s what I want to do. I want to play every three days.” Bouanga told me when asked about his incredible stamina.

If he continues to play every game, while contributing at his current rate of a goal contribution every hour in all competitions, there’s no telling what records he could break. (He's now up to 20 goal contributions in all contributions and it's the first weekend of May.) 

Midfield shifts are here to stay

In the first leg of the CCL semifinal against the Union, Cherundolo made a tactical tweak in midfield, switching from the traditional LAFC 4-3-3 with two 8’s and a single 6, to a double pivot with two 6’s and a 10. It worked so well he stuck with it for the entire second leg, which LAFC dominated en route to a 3-0 victory.

Cherundolo reverted to the traditional midfield setup to begin the match in San Jose, but once again made the change at halftime to a double pivot, dropping Timothy Tillman deeper alongside Ilie Sánchez. 

“We tried, in the second half, to unlock some spaces and to be a little more in control defensively," Cherundolo observed. "That worked.” 

Such answers have become a habit for Cherundolo, who makes adept tactical adjustments that influence games. The adaptive midfield structure is just the latest example. 

Don't expect this continued back-and-forth to go anywhere, either. 

“Both systems will be present in our play and both worked," he added. "It just kind of depends on the opponent.”