As they navigate a hectic early-season schedule, LAFC have an opportunity to emerge from Matchday 4 in an enviable position.
After falling 5-2 at Seattle Sounders FC last weekend, then narrowly advancing in Concacaf Champions Cup despite a 2-1 Round of 16 loss at the Columbus Crew, the goal is simple for the Black & Gold on Saturday when they return home to host Western Conference foe Austin FC (3:45 pm ET | MLS Season Pass; FOX, FOX Deportes).
"We would love to finish [this stretch] with three points at home, which is obviously our forever goal when we play at BMO, is to win those home games, no matter against who. And this would put us with nine points after four games potentially, and in the quarterfinals of Champions [Cup], which would be a great position to be in," head coach Steve Cherundolo explained on Friday.
"But in order to say that tomorrow afternoon, we need a top performance from our boys and physical effort."
Ilie reunion
The matchup will mark a homecoming for Austin FC midfielder Ilie Sánchez, who spent the last three seasons with the Black & Gold before departing for Austin in free agency. The 34-year-old was a stalwart during that span, etching his name in club lore as the winning penalty-kick-taker in LAFC's MLS Cup 2022 triumph over the Philadelphia Union.
"It should be a very positive emotion," Cherundolo said of the reunion. "We had great success together and some great conversations and relationships, so I'm personally looking forward to seeing him. I'm not looking forward to seeing him as an opponent, because he's a good and smart player, so I think Austin picked up a great player."
Balancing act
With the CCC series victory over Columbus, LAFC now have a brief respite from the fixture congestion, before they resume their campaign in the continental tournament on April 2.
That quarterfinal series will present their biggest test yet, as they take on Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF.
"I think the key in these blocks of playing a lot of games in different competitions is, obviously having some closure after matches, but in timely fashion, and then moving onto the next," Cherundolo said.
"We don't really have time to talk about what went wrong in Columbus and what went right in LA against Columbus. We move on and we are fully focused on Austin and winning a home game tomorrow."
