Soccer <\/p>\n
The LA Galaxy<\/a> were on cloud nine last December, lifting their record sixth MLS Cup title with a 2-1 victory<\/a> over the New York Red Bulls<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Fast forward four months and the vibes are decidedly worse in Carson, with LA losing their first two league games and dropping their Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> opener at Costa Rica’s CS Herediano.<\/p>\n What’s gone wrong, exactly? And can it be fixed when they host St. Louis CITY SC<\/a> this weekend for Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>)?<\/p>\n “I’m slightly dinging the alarm bells now for the LA Galaxy and it\u2019s mostly because of the injuries that are starting to pile up for this team,” Sacha Kljestan said on This is MLS<\/a>. “A lot of quality is falling off.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Most of all, DP midfielder Riqui Puig<\/a> is out through the summer with a torn ACL suffered late last year and DP winger Joseph Paintsil<\/a> is recovering from a quad injury he picked up in preseason. Right back Miki Yamane<\/a> is nursing a thigh injury and two new U22 Initiative signings \u2013 striker Matheus Nascimento<\/a> (thigh) and midfielder Lucas Sanabria<\/a> (collarbone) \u2013 are sidelined.<\/p>\n LA also traded away key pieces from their MLS Cup 2024-winning side amid salary-cap constraints, including striker Dejan Jovelji\u0107<\/a> (to Sporting Kansas City<\/a>) and midfielder Mark Delgado<\/a> (to LAFC<\/a>), further clouding the team’s outlook.<\/p>\n It’s all left head coach Greg Vanney searching for answers in the 2025 campaign’s early days.<\/p>\n “I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s alarm bells. I would say it\u2019s the snooze button,” said analyst Bradley Wright-Phillips.<\/p>\n “You know you have time and can change things if you want. But I don\u2019t think the worry is in the results as they\u2019ve lost [three] games. It\u2019s more in the performances. I\u2019m not seeing a dangerous LA Galaxy. They just don\u2019t look scary. They obviously have injuries and that\u2019s where you can have a little worry about them.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nInjury list<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Who steps up?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n