Eric Ramsay has challenged his Minnesota United players to respond from their “inexplicable” draw with Sporting Kansas City upon their return to MLS action against the LA Galaxy.
Ramsay watched on as Hassani Dotson and Tani Oluwaseyi’s brace had the Loons three goals to the good just a minute into the second half.
Indeed, it was Oluwaseyi’s first MLS double, becoming the fifth different Minnesota player to score multiple goals in a match since the start of last season.
But it mattered little as Kansas hit back with three late goals to seal a share of the spoils, with Minnesota missing out on moving into the top four of the Western Conference.
“The reality is they scored three goals in quick succession from very little, and that comes down to concentration, decision-making and execution around the box,” Ramsay said.
“We really let ourselves down. There is not one part of me that puts that entirely on the players, nor individually on the players that came on.
“It was a combination of my decision-making, the way in which the players on the pitch absorbed the subs, and, of course, the way in which they performed as they came on.
“We as a collective have to look at ourselves in a really harsh way there, because there’s almost an inexplicable drop-off.”
The LA Galaxy, meanwhile, are still on the hunt for their first league victory, having picked up their first point against the Portland Timbers last time out.
The MLS Cup champions have endured a significant slump in results since the start of the campaign, winning just one of their six games across all competitions (D1 L4).
Greg Vanney’s side are bottom of the Western Conference standings, while they have conceded the joint-most goals (eight) in the division so far this campaign.
And part of the Galaxy’s defence is Mathias Jorgensen, though the former Brentford man believes it is only a matter of time before things start to click in the squad.
“Yeah, I think obviously, we’re a new team. We’ve got to accept the fact that we are a new team with the fact that a few guys are still out,” Jorgensen said.
“And the new guys, myself included, have to kind of get some time to gel with the team, and we have to figure out obviously, as well, how to play without Riqui [Puig] because he was, from what I can see last year and what I heard from the guy, instrumental to the way the team was playing.
“Now, obviously, without him, you have to find different solutions, and sometimes that takes time. We’re playing a lot of games and we’re travelling a lot. That’s not easy, either.
“There’s a lot of challenges for us, and we’re just trying to stay calm and work hard and make sure that we get better every day, and I think getting a point away here was a good step in the right direction.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
In the absence of Oluwaseyi, who is on international duty with Canada, Yeboah will likely get the nod in attack, having started on the bench against Kansas last time out.
He came on and made an instant impact last time out, with only Robin Lod (three) creating more chances than Yeboah (two) in their late collapse at Children’s Mercy Park.
LA Galaxy – Christian Ramirez
After scoring his first goal for the LA Galaxy last time out, Ramirez comes up against his former employers for the fifth time in his MLS career.
The American has scored just once in those appearances against the team he scored 71 goals in 138 outings across all competitions for.
Ramirez also became the first player to score a regular-season MLS goal for both Los Angeles clubs, having found the back of the net for LAFC six times in 2018-19.
CR17 pic.twitter.com/uvcmtsS1Xx
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) March 16, 2025
MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA UNITED WIN
The LA Galaxy earned their first point of the regular season against Portland last time out. This equals their worst-ever start to an MLS season (one point in four games in 2020).
But they have won their last two matches against Minnesota, including a 6-2 win in last season’s conference semi-finals. This is the fourth time they have won consecutive games against the Loons (including the playoffs), but have never won three straight meetings in the series.
Minnesota, meanwhile, lost a 3-0 lead in the final 22 minutes to draw with Kansas City. The Loons are the first team to lose a three-goal lead in the final 25 minutes of a regular-season match since the New England Revolution against the Seattle Sounders in 2017.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Minnesota United – 41.7%
Draw – 26.7%
LA Galaxy – 31.6%
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