LAFC were without superstar Carlos Vela for their thrilling 3-3 MLS Is Back Tournament comeback against the Houston Dynamo.
Vela opted out of the tournament citing concerns amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The reigning MLS MVP, passed on the competition to stay at home with his pregnant wife.
Regardless of Vela’s absence, Los Angeles FC did not experience anything close to a goal drought – moreover, scoring three of the six goal thriller.
LAFC fell behind after an early goal from Houston’s Memo Rodriguez in the ninth minute. The 24-year-old midfielder took advantage of uncertain LA defending to open the scoring from outside the box.
Bradley Wright Phillips netted an equalizer for LAFC, but Rodriguez subsequently restored Houston’s lead with his second of the game. The third Houston goal arrived courtesy of the in-demand Alberth Ellis ahead of the half time whistle.
Trailing 3-1, Bob Bradley’s side rallied with a remarkable second-half comeback. Just after the hour mark the deficit was halved by Diego Rossi’s thunderous strike.
Not long after Rossi’s goal the comeback was complete. Brian Rodriguez latched on to a measured through ball from Latif Blessing to slot past Houston’s goalkeeper Marco Maric.
Goals from Wright-Phillips, Rossi and Rodriguez went a long way to helping supporters forget about Vela. Shortly after the game, fans of the Western Conference club took to Twitter to make their thoughts known.
Even without Vela, LAFC’s offense was praised – however, doubts were raised over the team’s ability to defend.
After this 3-3 result against Houston, LAFC face local rivals LA Galaxy in their second MLS Is Back Tournament group game.
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