La Chofis, a thorn in LAFC's side
LAFC look to limit Mexican attacker ahead of clash with Earthquakes
After a 10-day international break for both the MLS and The Aggregate, we look to pick back up right where we left off in the Western Conference playoff race.
Los Angeles Football Club’s final stretch of the season begins with a home match against the San Jose Earthquakes and LAFC finds themselves in a precarious situation — four points out of the final playoff spot with only six games remaining.
There is no margin for error and to ensure all three points, LAFC must Javier Eduardo “La Chofis” Lopez.
The first thought is probably — no duh.
But for the Earthquakes, its success in the final third this season quite literally begins and ends with Javier Eduardo “La Chofis” Lopez.
Whether it’s shot-creating actions, touches in the penalty area or shots on target, the 26-year-old Mexican international ranks either first or second on the Earthquakes in nearly every statistical category in the final third.
But the obvious problem with this phenomenon is while Lopez has no shortage of talent, the biggest knock on him when he was with Chivas de Guadalajara was seeing said talent on a consistent basis. This season has been no different.
When Lopez has disappeared in games, the Earthquakes have subsequently struggled — specifically in the final third. When Lopez is engaged and impacting the game, he is one of the more creative players in MLS (Lopez’s worldly hat trick) and San Jose is a dangerous side to play.
Yet over the last six games, Lopez has found a bit of a groove as the Earthquakes look for a playoff push of their own. During this stretch, Lopez has found the net six times and assisted once — including one goal and one assist against LAFC on Sept. 29.
The biggest question mark when looking to limit San Jose and Lopez, specifically, is how they will look to implement him in their approach on Saturday. This is something LAFC head coach Bob Bradly is well aware of from their previous two meetings.
“(Lopez) has been very important,” Bradley said. “Last game, they let (Lopez) play a little bit more centrally. It meant (Cristian) Espinoza at times, on the right, defended a little bit deeper. Those are things they change game-to-game.”
In LAFC’s last meeting, the Earthquakes deployed Lopez on the left side of a 4-2-3-1, with the freedom to drift in centrally. In an August matchup, Lopez played the lone target player in a 3-4-2-1 and drifted deep between the lines.
The key to stopping a play of Lopez’s caliber is to limit his touches in transition and to avoid diving in isolated 1v1 situations. In both matchups with LAFC, Lopez took advantage in transition, both on an assist in the second meeting and as the trailing runner on goals in both matchups.
In order for LAFC to be successful, they must first and foremost avoid the unforced, casual turnovers in possession. Secondly, to limit Lopez’s 1v1 situation, LAFC needs to be consistent in its transition defense — make sure it's delaying counter-attacks to allow for numbers to get behind the ball.
While keeping Lopez at bay might be easier said than done, if LAFC wants to take three points on Saturday, “La Chofis” needs to be priority No.1 on the defensive end.