LAFC force their opponent to play 37% of their open play passes in its own half, the highest since 2016. The opponent is also making only 15.8% passes into LAFC’s defensive third, which is the second lowest in MLS in the last four years.

If you are going to have any chance against them, you need to figure out how to get out of their counter-pressing trap.

Vela the MVP

The counter-pressing gets LAFC the possessions, but how they attack depends on Carlos Vela. There are other stand-out players: Tyler Miller is possibly the best ball-playing keeper in MLS. Eduard Atuesta, Mark-Anthony Kaye, and Latif Blessing form the dynamic midfield trio that owns the transition. Lee Nguyen should win the best 12th man award (and there should be a 12th man award). But LAFC are about Vela. He is the force that drives them into the most potent offensive machine in the league.

Vela has impressive numbers: per game, he has had 0.47 xG (the 2nd highest), 0.35 xA (the 8th highest), and 0.66 xB (the 38th highest). Those are MVP numbers. No one else has better records than Vela does in all three categories. But a few players come close; take his teammate Diego Rossi as an example: 0.43 xG/game, 0.2 xA/game and 0.61 xB/game.

Vela’s importance extends beyond primary xG indices. LAFC needs 22 and 25 possessions to create one xG with Vela’s and Rossi’s participation, respectively. The difference looks minute, but what really matters is how LAFC perform without them; without Rossi, LAFC need 91 possessions to create one xG. Without Vela? 143. Rossi gives LAFC’s possession a 280% boost in the likelihood to score (xG per possession), right around how an average inverted forward would give to his team. Vela gives them a >500% boost, top 9% among 400 qualified players since 2016. If you are the most important factor for the most potent offense, you are the MVP.

Vela’s movement and positioning dictate how everyone else moves: