A midweek win has buoyed the spirits around Columbus Crew SC. The (original) Black & Gold defeated the LA Galaxy to break a five game losing streak and now looks to complete the sweep against the city of Los Angeles with a win against high flying Los Angeles FC. The Crew offense broke out against a traveling Galaxy team. After lengths scoring droughts, Gyasi Zardes and Federico Higuain scored on Wednesday with Hector Jimenez adding another. New acquisition David Accam should be in the game day roster and is in line for his Columbus debut. LAFC has gone into a small slide, having only won once in the last four games, going 1-1-2 during that time. It’s a testament to how good the (new) Black & Gold has been in 2019 that their longest winless streak is two. They have been lead by the unstoppable Carlos Vela, who has 11 goals in 11 games. The MVP frontrunner has propelled LAFC to a league leading 24 points. What to read: Ralph Schudel scouts the best team in the league and digs into what makes the most potent attack in MLS tick and how the Black & Gold can come away with three points. With the third game in eight days, Guilherme Torres anticipates a few changes in Crew lineup in his team sheet prediction. Mike Crosky looks at the latest Crew acquisition, David Accam and how he’s different than what Columbus had before. Abigail Hintz sees intensity as the key to the Crew’s return to goal scoring success. Much of the Massive Report staff still doesn’t see three points for the Crew. Lineups: Columbus Crew: LAFC: Injuries, Suspensions, and Call-ups: Columbus Crew: Only two names are on the injury list and they will both be out for a while. Harrison Afful will be out with a broken jaw suffered in March. He’s still several weeks away from returning. Milton Valenzuela is on the season-ending injury list with an ACL tear. LAFC: A short list for the visitors. Defender Danilo Silva is out with a right hamstring strain. Midfielders Javier Perez and Alejandro Guido are also struggling with fitness and won’t play. How To Watch: Date: Saturday, May 11, 2019, 7:30 pm Venue: MAPFRE Stadium (Columbus, Ohio) TV: FOX Sports Ohio Radio: 97.1 The Fan (streaming), Spanish - columbuscrewsc.com Stream: FOX Sports Go/ESPN+<doc-sep>Here are three things we learned from LAFC’s 3-0 demolition of Columbus Crew on Saturday night, during which their swagger very much returned. The Columbus Crew were hoping to shock MLS and topple the best team in the league thus far on Saturday night. Hosting Los Angeles FC, who had only scored one goal in their past two matches and were seemingly losing their air of invincibility, the Crew wanted blood. Sadly for Caleb Porter and his burgeoning side, LAFC rediscovered their early-season swagger in one of their better performances of the year. They were not as clinical as in weeks past and the 3-0 scoreline does flatter them a little, but LAFC controlled the match for almost its entirety and never really looked all that threatened. Here are three things we learned from their 3-0 win over the Crew. 3. Carlos Vela is unreal The game was over. By this point, anything that happened had no impact on the result and little on the season altogether, if only to put a further dent in the Columbus Crew’s goal difference. But Carlos Vela’s goal in the dying moments was utterly sensational. Want your voice heard? Join the MLS Multiplex team! Write for us! Picking up the ball just past the halfway line, he turned, spotted a gap between two Crew defenders and immediately burst towards it. Shimmying his hips to evade the half-hearted challenges, he dribbled forwards, splitting the pair, and headed on to the edge of the penalty area. And then, in his inimitable style, with a swing of his swashbuckling left foot, he curled a lovely finish past the futile stretch of Joe Bendik and into the far corner. This was his 12th goal in as many matches. He is the top scorer in the league and is currently on pace to break Josef Martinez’s single-season goals record that was set just last year. Carlos Vela is absolutely unreal and is a key reason why LAFC are top of the tree.<doc-sep>Columbus Crew SC wrapped up its Western Conference home stand against Los Angeles Football Club, bowing out by a score of 3-0. After hosting the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, Columbus welcomed first-place LAFC to MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday night. For LAFC, they now have 15 first-half goals on the season which leads all of Major League Soccer. The team maintains its top spot in the league and are first in the hunt for the MLS Supporters’ Shield with a record of 8-3-1. Columbus, with the team’s seventh loss in eight games, fall to 5-7-1 on the season. Here is how each player performed in Saturday’s showdown: Joe Bendik (6) – The keeper was a late addition to Caleb Porter’s starting 11 as it was announced prior to the match that usual starting goalkeeper, Zack Steffen, was out to care for a lower leg injury. Unfortunately for Bendik, both of his starts have resulted in 3-0 defeats. The keeper made five saves and wasn’t necessarily at fault for any of the three goals. Hector Jimenez (6) – Jimenez made some important clearances throughout the match. He was tasked with keeping LAFC’s Carlos Vela in check, which was a success until the waning minutes of the game. It was unfortunate for him that Vela was able to glide past him for a late goal. Jonathan Mensah (5) – Jonathan had no chance to get in front of the Mark-Anthony Kaye goal for Los Angeles, although he was directly at fault for the second goal: a questionable close-range header which was put over Bendik and allowed for an easy tap in for LAFC. This was a night that the Ghanaian international will hope to forget soon. Gaston Sauro (5) – The center back allowed Kaye to slip through the backline for the opening goal. Both he and Jonathan’s energy was poor down the stretch and both were overrun by the visitor’s attack. A week’s rest should help the center back pairing find their footing for the upcoming two-game road stand. Josh Williams (7) – One of the best players on the pitch, Josh Williams was an addition to the squad late, just like Bednik. The Akron native covered for the injured Waylon Francis at right back and had a solid performance, as LAFC weren’t able to create virtually anything down his flank. Crew fans should expect to see more of Williams at right back in the coming weeks. Artur (6) - The central midfielder got substituted for Federico Higuain to begin the second half. The Brazilian had a night to forget while he didn’t do anything inspiring. Wil Trapp © (8) – Trapp was arguably the best player for the Crew on the night. He was relentless in midfield and worked hard to ensure Columbus kept up in the possession battle. Trapp completed 90.2 percent of his passes, which was the best accuracy on the night (min. 10 passes). Pedro Santos (6) – The Portuguese international had the best chance for the Black & Gold, a 58th-minute shot that went right in the hands of LAFC goalkeeper Tyler Miller. Miller made his only save of the night from this attempt. Had Santos leveled the score at 1-1, we could have seen a very different outcome. David Guzman (6) – In his first start for the Black & Gold, Guzman played alongside Artur and Trapp in a 4-3-3 formation to start. While he didn’t stand out tonight, he did go box-to-box for the Crew and enjoyed being on the ball, completing 82.7 percent of his passes. Robinho (6) – The Brazilian gave a helping hand to Jimenez to keep Vela quiet. He was crucial in a few early second half runs that unfortunately did not lead to Columbus goals. Accam replaced him in the second half to make his debut for the Crew. Gyasi Zardes (6) – The forward didn’t do much despite the first half formation change. Zardes saw too little of the ball to make an impact and didn’t have many quality chances. He couldn’t convert a quality cross from Robinho in the first half and almost equalized for Columbus in the 75th minute but was flagged for being offside. Federico Higuain (7) – The Crew’s midfield maestro replaced Artur to begin the second half. The veteran had one of his classic performances, although he was not able to bring the Black & Gold back into the contest. He made an immediate impact and set up some wonderful chances after being subbed on. David Accam (7) – In hi debut, Accam came on for the Black & Gold in the 65th minute for Robinho. He showed good promise by making some good runs late in the game. His one shot from seven yards out resulted in a block. Caleb Porter (6) – In Porter’s defense this was not a 3-0 game. Columbus actually performed very well in the first half, but it wasn’t until the final few moments of the game where the wheels absolutely fell off for Porter’s side. However, trying a new formation including Guzman with the decision of resting Higuain is why Porter deserves some credit. He got it right, but there was nothing stopping this side from fatigue. A third game in eight days versus the a well-rested LAFC side was never a recipe for success.<doc-sep>April showers bring May flowers ... and set up wild MLS seasons chock-full of surprising results and consensus-smashing results. It took a while to get here, but it feels like MLS is finally the league we all know and mostly wring our hands about. A league that provides more than its fair share of chaos. A league that tests our patience with a round of results that confounds as much as it clarifies. Who's good? Who's bad? These are our weekly MLS Power Rankings. Previous rankings: Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 1. LAFC (7 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss) Previous ranking: 1 Next MLS match: Sunday, April 28, at Seattle (3.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes) OK, so LAFC lost on the road to Vancouver on Wednesday, but Bob Bradley's club also made a statement against Seattle on Sunday night, busting up the second-best team in the league with a strong performance at Banc of California Stadium. How good is LAFC? Good enough to remain the best team in MLS. See you all next week. Previous ranking: 2 Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, vs. San Jose Earthquakes (10.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+) There's this: The Sounders were the last unbeaten team in MLS when the whistle blew in L.A. on Sunday night. That won't make them feel better about the performance, a big loss to LAFC, but there's hope that the season will bend toward Seattle across 34 games. Good team, bad night. Previous ranking: 3 Next MLS match: Wednesday, April 24, at Minnesota (8 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+) Zlatan Ibrahimovic won himself (another) penalty, Diego Polenta scored his first MLS goal and the Galaxy knocked the Dynamo from the ranks of the unbeaten. The real show on Friday was the battle between Ibrahimovic and AJ DeLaGarza. Back in his old stomping grounds, DeLaGarza decided to fight a lion. He did not win. Previous ranking: 4 Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs. Columbus Crew (8.30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+) The unbeaten run was always going to end at some point. Friday's loss wasn't inevitable -- the Dynamo went toe-to-toe with the Galaxy on the road -- but we can't downgrade Houston dramatically because of it. Wilmer Cabrera's team looks to be the real deal and will be in the mix for the top spot in the West all year. If it can hold on to Alberth Elis. Previous ranking: 8 Next MLS match: Saturday, April 27, vs. San Jose (3.30 p.m. ET) First, the facts: Atlanta is not very good right now and beating it isn't all that unique anymore. That being said, walking into Mercedes-Benz Stadium and taking down the champions is no small feat for a young side like FC Dallas. Take note of the goal scorers for the Hoops: 18-year academy product Jesus Ferreira and offseason DP signing Bryan Acosta.<doc-sep>
Guillermo Barros Schelotto doesn’t have to finalize his lineup until about an hour before Saturday afternoon’s home game with New York City FC, which is a good thing since the Galaxy coach went to bed Friday not knowing which starters will be ready to play. Midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, arguably the team’s best player through the first 10 games, exited Wednesday’s loss in Columbus in the first half with what has been reported as a left hamstring injury. He didn’t train with the team Friday and his availability won’t be known until just before kickoff. Right back Julian Araujo hasn’t played since twisting an ankle nearly three weeks ago. But he may have to play since Rolf Feltscher, the team’s other right back, is limping with a toe injury that slowed him the last two games. Then there are the healthy players who simply are tired heading into the team’s third game in eight days, a span that included two cross-country flights. “In the morning we’ll make a decision,” Schelotto said. The Galaxy have won one of their last four games, scoring just five goals in that span. And the loss in Columbus was the second in as many tries, matching the team’s longest losing streak since last May. Or, as the coach calls it, a learning experience. “Every time you lose — if you play well and you lose or you play badly and you lose — there are a lot of things to learn,” Schelotto said. Captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic also is slumping — well, by his standards anyway — with the Columbus game marking just the fourth start in which he failed to get a goal or assist since mid-August. But the good news for the Galaxy (7-3-1) is they will be back at Dignity Health Sports Park, where they are an MLS-best 6-0, the team’s best home start since its first season in 1996. Meanwhile New York City (3-1-6) is unbeaten in its last six, the longest such streak in the league. Kaye: No time for panic at LAFC LAFC rolled through the first seven weeks of the season unbeaten and all but unstoppable, averaging three goals a game while giving up the fewest. The team has won just once since. But midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye said there’s no sense of worry heading into Saturday’s game at Columbus. “Our first 11 games of the season we lost one,” he said. “If the next 23 games are the same, we lose three games all year. So it’s not the right time to panic.” Maybe not. But a little concern may be in order. LAFC (7-1-3) still has the league’s best record and highest-scoring attack but has won just one of its last four and has one goal in its last 209 minutes, with opponents frustrating that offense by playing as many as eight defenders behind the ball. Sign up for our weekly soccer newsletter » Kaye said it’s up to LAFC to make adjustments of its own. “Teams are starting to change up the way they play against us,” he said. “But that excites us because now we get to work on different things and try to get better. Whenever you’re trying to make a good team and a good culture you have to be ready to adapt to certain things. “We just have to get back to the way we’ve been playing.” This weekend’s trip marks just the team’s third outside the Pacific time zone and comes against a Columbus team that snapped a five-game losing streak with a midweek win over the Galaxy. Saturday’s game will be the third in eight days for the Crew (5-6-1). And while Columbus has struggled to score — only four teams have fewer goals than the Crew’s 12 — Zack Steffen has the highest save percentage of any regular goalkeeper in the league and is tied for second in shutouts with four. “The last couple of games have been tough,” Kaye said. “It’s not supposed to be easy all the time. We’re just going to have to push through it.” kevin.baxter@latimes.com | Twitter: @kbaxter11