The chance to clinch a playoff spot was there for FC Dallas to take on Saturday in Carson, California, but as some might say these days...things happened.
An early red card to Logan Farrington opened up things a bit more for the LA Galaxy, and FC Dallas was not able to hold off a late surge from the hosts as they went on to lose 2-1.
Let's dive into some final stats and comments from the game before we move on to this week's Decision Day finale in Vancouver.
Red card to Farrington opens up space for LA
I talked about the red card a good bit yesterday, so I won't dwell on it too much here. I wanted to spend more time discussing how that impacted the defense in this one.
The thing that paints the biggest picture to me is comparing the two LA games' defensive action graphics (from MLS Stats). On the left is how deep into the defensive end most of the actions were against the Galaxy, while the graphic on the right, from the home game, shows how high up the field Dallas was able to defend the ball.
Defensive actions, at LA match (left) vs at home LA game (right). Graphics via MLS Stats
The average defensive height of the defensive actions for FC Dallas between the first LA game and the second is pretty massive, almost a 20-meter difference. By being up a man for nearly 85 minutes, the Galaxy were able to push their agenda more in this game.
This, along with relatively mediocre performances out of Kaick, Ramiro, and Lalas Abubakar, the defense was under constant pressure Saturday night.
Let’s break down the final numbers for the defense from this one.