San Diego FC wins 2-1 over LA Galaxy

Goals by Luca De La Torre and Hirving Lozano secure SDFC the crown as best team in Southern California. San Diego FC started wonderfully in their very first club season, while the reigning MLS champions Los Angeles Galaxy is still without a victory in their 2025 campaign. Over 30,000 people at Snapdragon Stadium saw an entertaining match in the San Diego afternoon sun. The guests from Los Angeles almost turned into party crashers, if they would not have missed three chances in the starting 15 minutes. Ironically enough, after it seemed that San Diego gained control of the game, it was the Galaxy who scored the opening goal of the day. But San Diego FC showed character and equalized only seconds later. After controlling most of the game, it was Hirving "Chucky" Lozano scoring the deserved winning goal for San Diego FC in injury time.

SDFC vulnerable to quick side switches

Since matchday 1, San Diego FC play in a 4-3-3 formation. Three center midfielder cause a very compact center, but also lead to a lack of width in their game. This makes San Diego’s defense vulnerable to quick side switches. While the ball is on SD's left side of the field, the three San Diego CMs shift towards that ball side, leaving an open space on their right side. If opponents switch sides quickly, using two passes max to get the ball to the opposite winger), they can put repeated pressure on the SDFC defense.

San Diego's 4-3-3 overloads the area around the ball. However, if the press is unsuccessful, SDFC shows vulnerability to quick side switches. A compact center with three CMs lacks width. Galaxy's LB Nelson forces San Diego's RW Mighten to make the run back, or LA will break through San Diego's right side. Nevertheless, it's a gamble worth playing. San Diego has the #7 defense in the country.

LA Galaxy created their goal exactly by this pattern. A quick dribbling from the right and an accurate pass by the former Borussia Dortmund player Marco Reus, switches the game to the left side of the field. Los Angeles LB Nelson and LW Fagundez outnumber San Diego’s RB Kumado. The same pattern created chances for the Galaxy already earlier in the game; and even in prior games this was an issue. Pulling the RW back and changing San Diego’s defensive shape to a 4-4-2, gave the team more width against the ball and made them less vulnerable to side switches.

San Diego's False Nine Opens Space for Attacking Midfielders

San Diego FC’s interpretation of the 4-3-3 formation has its strength in offense. Three CMs are supported by Anders Dreyer. The Danish striker plays a deep-lying forward, a false nine, and often falls back to mimic an additional midfielder. This shall give his team a numerical advantage in the center of the field. By outnumbering the opponent, at least one of the own players must stay unmarked, making it easier to pass through the lines. Strikers like Dreyer have good passing skills, a higher workrate, and are more involved in creating chances compared to the regular Number 9.

Dreyer falling back into midfield, opens space where he is usually supposed to be. This space is exploited by quick passing combinations and aggressive vertical runs by the CMs. Skills are key! A controlled first touch under pressure and into play direction is essential to keep the speed of the attack high. Minimize ball contact time to avoid losing the ball in a 1v1. This means to pass the ball quick, accurate, and perfectly timed. Before the ball reaches you, scan the field! Look over your right and left shoulder. Look around you. Also look in the depth of the field. Where is the ball? Where are my teammates? Where are the opponents? Where is open space? When the ball reaches you, you must already have an idea what to do next. Decide and execute quickly.

Only seconds after LA Galaxy’s goal, San Diego FC equalized the score. Dreyer falls back, opening space around the box. The CM Tverskov runs deep, scans the space, and plays with two touches into the run of De La Torre, another CM, who finishes clinically with his first touch.

Chucky Lozano’s Winning Goal for San Diego FC

Two wingers in a 4-3-3 add width to the team’s offense. Defending against three attackers forces the defenders to position themselves wider apart from each other; compared to defending versus a 4-4-2. San Diego FC exploits these wider gaps between the defenders by vertical runs of its CMs, and by crosses on the second post. Against four defenders, the winger on the opposite side to the ball, often plays a 1v1 versus the wingback. While the defending wingback moves towards his own goal, with eyes on the ball, he still needs to scan and anticipate the in-running winger. A difficult task when this winger is San Diego’s Hirving Lozano. With his first-mover advantage, Lozano usually jumps with more power into the ball and is sooner there.

Improving and working on the fundamental skills is crucial for turning professional. An element widely underrated in youth soccer practice is heading. In soccer training work on hitting the ball accurately with your forehead, put force into the ball with your whole body, improve your jumping height, and work on your timing.

While Lozano’s header after cross to the second post went slightly over the crossbar in minute 19, he missed another header after a diagonal cross only minutes later (32.). In the very final scene of the game, Dreyer luckily got the ball kicked into his direction on the right wing. While the LA Galaxy defense focuses on the wrong player, Chucky Lozano is unmarked on the second post and puts Dreyer’s cross with a header in the back of the net.

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