Galaxy wants to close out the opening round against Colorado

Not so long ago, the Galaxy’s 5-0 win on Saturday opening the Major League Soccer playoffs probably would have been enough to win a home-and-home series.

In today’s MLS landscape, that opening win is just that: a win with no aggregate goal lead for the Galaxy to carry into Friday’s second meeting against the Colorado Rapids.

“I miss those days,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “Each of these is one match at a time. There has never been a truer statement in the play-offs scenario, that is not a knockout (match).

“The first game you win, it’s great, you put that to your name, but this will be a completely new game, in a completely new environment and both teams will have looked back at the last game and said, ‘Okay, what did we like, what did we not like, what do we expect?’ And try to prepare our groups for what is to come. All it takes is one result for them to be back on this case.

Each game in the best-of-three opening round counts as its own result. A Colorado victory (either in regulation or on penalty kicks) forces the series back to Dignity Health Sports Park for a winner-take-all Game 3 on November 9.

The Galaxy had a near-perfect performance in the opener, allowing just one shot.

“You have to play every game as it comes to you and you have to play every game to solve the problems of the day and get the result at the end of the day,” Vanney said.

The Galaxy last visited Colorado on October 2 and came away with a 3-1 winthe first in Colorado since 2017.

“We have to expect a completely different team when we go there (Friday),” Vanney said. “Obviously it hasn’t been that long since we played in Colorado. We expect a more aggressive team, a more physical team, a team that will try to disrupt us a lot more, so be prepared for that.

“They’re either going to press really hard or they’re going to try to protect themselves a little bit and hurt us on the counter, but I suspect it’s going to be the former and they’re going to come quite a way. work hard and see if they can disrupt us and get something going early and try to get some momentum on this thing. But we just have to be ready and solve the problems that are presented to us and try to create our opportunities on the other side.”