LA Galaxy vs Chicago Fire: 3 Thoughts on MLS Season Opener

Mar 6, 2015; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes (right ) and Chicago Fire defender Eric Gehrig (left) battle for the ball during the first half at StubHub Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Fire center backs put in a valiant 90 Minute 60 minute shift

A big problem the Men in Red encountered last season was silly mistakes in the back. At some moments last season, it was as if the Ringling Brothers had set shop and were playing the role of Chicago Fire defenders with the circus like errors that would occur.

For the first 45 minutes, Jeff Larentowicz and especially Eric Gehrig, were the best Fire players on the pitch. They turned away wave after wave of attacks from the hungry LA Galaxy and seemed to do such in a no non-sense manner.

Eric Gehrig continuously positioned himself perfectly and seemed to make clearances at the most urgent moments. Meanwhile, Big Red was poised and calm on the ball, which helped momentarily relax a side at times that was in utter chaos for the opening half.

Unfortunately, Fire fans cannot have nice things as it all went wrong in the 65th minute. As seen earlier, it was a horrendous error and botched clearance from the normally reliable Jeff Larentowicz that led to LA’s opening goal. Lovel Palmer was probably in too far especially if he was marking Villarreal (the eventual goalscorer). Either way you put it, another error that could have been avoided turned the match on its head and led to the eventual game winning goal.

From there on out, the backs seemed phased as the team pushed up for an equalizer and found themselves in many uncomfortable positions and odd-man breaks. The kamikaze like tactics led to 2 or 3 close calls before the LA Galaxy put the nail in the coffin.

There is no doubt that the Fire will need a 90 minutes of concentration from their backs this season, especially if they continue to struggle passing the ball in the middle third to create chances down the pitch.

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