Match Focus: Old Guard Red Bulls and LA Galaxy Fight for MLS Supremacy

In Major League Soccer 3.0 places in the established order are up for grabs. The big-name signings don’t go where they used to go, the television cameras no longer visit the same grounds week after week and the unpredictability of North American football’s top-flight has only been accentuated.

And so in such circumstance, this weekend’s round of games throws up a compelling fixture between the New York Red Bulls and the LA Galaxy. While both sides were once the predominant franchises in MLS, now they must fight to retain such supremacy.

While the Red Bulls once drew the biggest names to the East coast, David Villa and Frank Lampard have joined expansion side New York City FC with Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill leaving Harrison in the off-season.

The Galaxy find themselves in a similar situation following the retirement of Landon Donovan at the end of last season. Once the brightest star in the MLS universe, the Galaxy have lost some of their glitter over the past few years.

With defeat to the Vancouver Whitecaps earlier this month, the Galaxy were in poor shape. Arena’s side had gone four games without a win as they struggled to adapt to life without Donovan in the team. How would LA make up the 19 assists and 10 goals - which he amassed in 2014 - lost with the USA legend’s retirement?

Since then Bruce Arena’s side have won successive games against the Seattle Sounders and Sporting KC, as the Galaxy finally kick-started their campaign. However, heading into this weekend’s clash with the Red Bulls, plenty of questions still persist.

Without Donovan as the left-sided forward in the front three, Arena has taken to using Jose Villarreal in that position, where the USA under 23 international has impressed - scoring one and contributing two assists in just four starting appearances.

But in terms of forwards stepping into the Galaxy’s attacking line this season, nobody else has made the impression that Bradford Jamieson did against Sporting KC. The 18-year-old turned in quite the display at StubHub Center.

Just like Donovan, Jamieson gives Galaxy threat and directness on the counter-attack - possessing the confidence to take on opposition defenders. And just like Donovan, Jamieson tends to pull left, pulling opposition out of shape and into compromising positions.

Playing just behind Alan Gordon as the central striker, Jamieson made a strong case for a starting spot from here on, firing away two shots on goal and making one key pass which resulted in a goalscoring opportunity for his strike partner, as well as completing 3 successful dribbles from an audacious 10 attempts.

New Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch too has had his fair share of adapting to do early on this season, as the franchise grows accustomed to their status as New York’s secondary club. However, Marsch’s introduction to MLS management has been a seamless one, with the Red Bulls claiming three wins and two draws from their opening five fixtures.

Last week’s 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes was perhaps the Red Bulls’ most complete display of the fledgling season so far, with New York’s frontline - which has scored eight goals in the last four games - clicking once again.

But despite the retirement of Henry and the exit of Cahill, it is in defence where the Red Bulls have changed most in the off-season. With Jamison Olave returning to Real Salt Lake, the Red Bulls were in need of a new defensive kingpin for the 2015 season, and Marsch would seem to have found that figure in French centre-back Damien Perrinelle - who has been impressive in his opening six games for the club.

With an MLS-high 5 interceptions per game, Perrinelle’s capacity for stepping out of the backbone to be proactive is central to the ideology Marsch has imposed on his team in just a few weeks of competitive action. Teenager Matt Miazga has also made an impression alongside the Frenchman, averaging 4.4 interceptions per game himself - the sixth most in the league.

Kemar Lawrence also seems to have adapted well to Marsch’s methods, making an average of 3.3 tackles per game from his left-back position. And with Dax McCarty and Felipe in the anchoring central midfield positions, the Red Bulls have given themselves a sturdy platform to build from.

This clash shouldn’t be downplayed too much, though. Sure, both teams have fresh competition - with Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders now significant players in the transfer market too - but this is still a heavyweight match. After all, the Galaxy are still the current MLS Cup holders and will regain some of their star power when Steven Gerrard leaves Liverpool for Carson at the end of the Premier League season.

When the Red Bulls face the Galaxy, everyone concerned with MLS pays attention, even in the league’s 2015 form. The two teams might have changed in the off-season but the fixture's relevancy isn’t in question - although the teams' dominance might be.
 

Do you think either of these teams can with this year's MLS Cup? Let us know in the comments below