What we learned in FC Dallas’ draw vs LA Galaxy

FC Dallas was the better team on Saturday night against the LA Galaxy. That’s not a hot take as the numbers back that up (more on that later).

Dallas still extended its unbeaten run on the night to five games, but this was not the kind of draw that felt all that satisfying despite Petar Musa continuing to do Petar Musa things. The team had chances, but they continue to find ways to leave points behind against teams that they’re clearly better than.

Let’s dive into some of the key aspects of this draw.

Five minute lapse proved costly

Remind me if you’ve seen this before out of FC Dallas, especially this season at home: the team starts off strong, picks up a couple of nice goals, only to let the lead slip away.

We saw it with San Diego (though that was a battle back to a draw). We saw it with Houston (three goals in five minutes). And we saw it again Saturday night against LA. This time around it was two goals in a five or so minute stretch.

Yes, the game would have largely been different had a disallowed goal been counted (more on that in a moment). Instead, we’re looking at a different result that just leaves the worst possible taste in your mouth.

“We need to improve our discipline because I think we’re going to have leads often. We have great quality and we can score goals with the best teams,” said Eric Quill following the match on Saturday. “The question is whether we can see out those leads, keep our foot on the gas and stay disciplined when we’re ahead. The margins are small, and we can’t switch off or give those moments away.”