LA Galaxy vs. Milan: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction
AC Milan coasted past the Los Angeles Galaxy, 2-0, to earn third place at the International Champions Cup. The Galaxy finish fourth.
Although this was only a friendly, both teams put out very strong sides to start the match. Plus, the Galaxy are right in the middle of their MLS campaign, so Bruce Arena wanted to make sure his players were not tired out.
Milan were expected to take control, even with the Italian club only in preseason, and that is exactly what happened.
Mario Balotelli got the scoring started in the 18th minute. It was a nice individual effort, as he executed a nice turn and finished very well.
Ives Galarcep thought the Galaxy should have done more to prevent the goal.
Milan were getting the majority of the chances. They have an excellent attacking trio of Balotelli, Stephan El Shaarawy and M'Baye Niang. The Galaxy have no way to prepare for a trident like that. There's no MLS club with anything close to what Milan offer.
Milan were able to dominate the match in midfield and deliver it up to Balotelli, Niang and El Shaarawy with relative ease.
Niang put Milan up 2-0 in the 40th minute. It was a goal he almost created exclusively. He received a throw-in on the right flank and took a few steps before firing a well-placed shot into the bottom left corner.
Italian football expert Matteo Bonetti felt Niang was already in midseason form.
The Galaxy looked all right in spells in the first half, but Milan were deserved leaders. LA only had one shot on target in that half to Milan's four. BeIN Sport's Phil Schoen thought Mike Magee would have served the Galaxy much better than Robbie Rogers did.
The second half was only more of the same.
Milan took their foot off the gas a little as they had a two-goal lead. Arena also subbed off a lot of his stars, so the Galaxy were missing the players who could have gotten them back in the game.
Niang almost had his second in the 51st minute, but his shot went wide of the goal. El Shaarawy had an effort in the 55th minute blocked by Kofi Opare.
Slowly but surely, Massimiliano Allegri also took his best players off. You can't begrudge either manager for doing so, but when the stars went off the pitch, so did the excitement.
The Galaxy didn't have anything to offer in the way of shots, and Milan were content to control the ball in midfield and sit back.
There was a scary moment in the 79th minute for Milan supporters when Balotelli went down holding his right leg after attempting a long pass from the right flank. It's always the injuries that don't come from contact you worry about; but fortunately for Balotelli and Milan, it only looked to be a cramp.
For Milan, this was a good preseason win as they look to improve upon their third-place finish last season. Their attack looked very good and their midfield controlled the match.
For the Galaxy, there are few positives to take away, although this match was not a major concern for Arena. He looked at it as nothing more than glorified training for his players.
Key Player Grades
Mario Balotelli: B+
Balotelli played a lot of this game, which was a bit of a surprise, and suffered cramp as a result. Balotelli is the player Milan can least afford to lose.
Always a threat, he held up the ball well and got his teammates involved.
M'Baye Niang: A-
This Milan attack is so dangerous, and so young. It's scary thinking where it could be in a year or two. One of the images most fans will have of M'Baye Niang is his shot off the post against Barcelona in the second leg of Milan's Champions League quarterfinal tie.
Only 18 years old, Niang is a real player. He's so advanced for this stage in his career. He'll still make some silly mistakes, but for the most part, he's extremely dangerous on the right flank. Niang displayed a lot of his talent against the Galaxy.
Landon Donovan: C+
It's hard to be too harsh on Landon Donovan. He only had one half with which to impact the match.
Still, Donovan was largely absent in the first half. He tried his best to get his teammates involved and create some shots on target, but it just didn't happen.
What's Next
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