Brian Rodriguez’s debut doesn’t disappoint for LAFC

When Los Angeles Football Club captain Carlos Vela left Sunday’s rivalry game against the Los Angeles Galaxy with a hamstring injury to his right leg, it set the stage for Uruguayan attacker Brian Rodriguez, LAFC’s newest designated player, to make his team debut.

Vela pulled up with his injury in the 61st minute, just eight minutes after scoring his 27th goal of the season and equalizing the match against the Galaxy at 3-3. Bradley sent in Rodriguez, who signed with LAFC in the final moments of the summer transfer window, in Vela’s place. The young attacker made quite an impression in his 29 minutes on the pitch.

The former Penarol attacker took the field with confidence and made his presence felt on the pitch in his limited minutes. He was a constant influence on LAFC’s attack from the moment he got in the game, touching the ball 27 times in his 29 minutes. He took four shots, though he only forced one save from Galaxy keeper David Bingham.

Rodriguez was also adept at moving the ball; he completed ten of the 11 passes he attempted, while creating two chances for his teammates. The match ended in another draw, the third in five matches between these teams, but LAFC dominated the second half, and Rodriguez contributed heavily to the team’s improved performance.

“Brian was good right from the beginning, come on. It still takes a little bit more to get him totally in sync with people, but some of his ideas, especially when he comes inside, were really good,” head coach Bob Bradley said of Rodriguez. “He’s confident to take people on. He beat the defender to the left to get some balls across. For someone just coming into a team, I think those are all really positive.”

In his first five minutes in the game, Rodriguez made three separate runs into the LAFC’s attacking third, including a run during which he dribbled Galaxy defender Rolf Feltscher to the ground inside the box before sending a dangerous ball across goal.

Rodriguez also handled LAFC’s corners while he was in the game. One of his attempts found defender Walker Zimmerman’s head and set Adama Diomande up for a goal the center forward couldn’t finish. Based on Sunday’s debut, Rodriguez could become as important piece of LAFC’s attack as he continues to gain experience during the final matches of the regular season.

“We want him to find a way to be on the move to get towards goal, but we also ask certain things defensively so that when we defend the [attackers], as a group of three, set us up to try to win balls,” Bradley said. “Those things go hand in hand with how we play. So far he’s picked up ideas really well.”