Steven Gerrard & Robbie Keane Past Is Great For LA Galaxy Future
By Pablo Jacobo
Well that didn’t take long. After two sub-par games from Steven Gerrard, the former Liverpool man made his presence known in Friday’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Los Angeles Galaxy demolished their California rivals 5-2 overcoming a 2-0 deficit in front of a sellout crowd at StubHub Center that included former Galaxy players Landon Donovan and David Beckham.
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Reigning MLS MVP and 2015 ESPY MLS Player of the year Robbie Keane scored his second hat trick of the season taking his tally up to 9 goals this season. Gerrard contributed his first goal and notched his first assist of the season. Sebastian Lletget continues his fine form scoring the final goal for the Galaxy – his fifth in eight games.
With the victory, LA jumps to first place in the Western Conference standings with 34 points and remain the most prolific high-powered offense in MLS with 36 goals.
The chemistry between Gerrard and Keane was noticeably apparent. LA head coach sarcastically jokes during his post-game conference (below), “Robbie and Stevie look like they’ve played together before.” Indeed they have. Both players played together at Liverpool. Gerrard adds about playing with Keane the “relationship will only get stronger.”
Gerrard “felt like a kid again” on the pitch. His impact was felt from the start of the match as he drew the penalty call that led to Keane’s first goal. He started the counter attack for the Galaxy’s second goal from the midfield as he delivered the ball to Keane who passed it to Baggio Husidic who set up Gerrard for the tying goal. His celebration after drew flashbacks from all the goals he scored for the Merseyside club.
The third score came from a Gerrard set piece to his former Liverpool teammate Keane who awkwardly flicked the ball into the net with the outside of his right boot. Gerrard should have been credited for the fourth goal via the advantage rule but instead the ref blew a penalty after San Jose GK David Bingham took down Husidic before Gerrard’s rebound shot. Keane completed the hat trick on the penalty.
Keane and Gerrard displayed their chemistry on the field in various plays by utilizing dummy plays and showing their crisp passing. They knew where the other was at all times. Their familiarity from the past will bode well for the club as Gerrard continues to get acclimated with his new teammates. The ball movement was superb overall from the team. The quality both European superstars bring to the Galaxy makes the team better.
Gerrard mentioned in his post-game conference his happiness in playing again. He alluded to ignoring HC Arena when he would check on his fitness as the game progressed. He reiterated “I didn’t want to come off” the pitch and wanted to “play as much football” as he possibly could. That was one the reasons he decided to join the LA Galaxy.
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“One of the reasons why I came to this team was to start all the games. I was determined not to become a squad player. I still feel like I’ve got energy, I still love the game, I’m enjoying training and I’m settling in pretty well. So far so good, but I need to keep working and keep focused.”
This team will be scary once he gets into better game shape. Let’s keep in mind the squad is not at full strength. The Galaxy has multiple players on International duty. Jaime Penedo, Gyasi Zardes, Omar Gonzalez, Alan Gordon and Giovani dos Santos are competing in the Gold Cup with their respective National teams. Gerrard said, ”We’re only going to get stronger.”
HC Bruce Arena will have hard time finding playing time when the full squad is available. I’m salivating at the thought of seeing Gerrard lineup alongside Keane, Zardes and dos Santos.