To quote from Calvin and Hobbes, “Things could be worse, but they could be a lot better too.”

Traveling cross-country and battling an excellent New York City FC team on a small crap pitch in freezing weather was always going to be a difficult ask for Sigi Schmid’s side without Romain Alessandrini. When Gio pulled up with a knock, the contest admittedly seemed lost.

After an atrocious first half Sigi made adjustments, bringing on Servanco Carrasco and shuttling Jona to the No. 10 role. The Galaxy responded, and while NYCFC had several chances to put the game away, LA were the better side in the second half, giving the team something to build on during the break.

Losing Giovani dos Santos and Michael Ciani in the course of their loss at NYCFC appeared to offer some addition by subtraction, as the Galaxy played much better in the final minutes. The concern, of course, is if Gio will ever get to the level that would make him one of the best players in MLS.

The Eastern Conference continues to dominate the Power Rankings: NYCFC holds the top spot with TFC and Columbus not too far behind.