LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Football Club could not wait to resume Major League Soccer play following a month-long break for the Leagues Cup, and the team played like it on Wednesday night.
With 11 league games remaining before the MLS Cup playoffs, LAFC ran the struggling Colorado Rapids off the field at BMO Stadium, dominating the Western Conference’s worst team to secure a 4-0 victory that left them four points behind first-place St. Louis City.
Playing a midweek match after their Sunday evening contest was postponed due to Tropical Storm Hilary, LAFC (11-6-7, 40 points) brought thunder and lightning in the opening half.
Carlos Vela, who missed the club’s last two Leagues Cup matches with an upper thigh injury, started alongside Denis Bouanga and Spanish striker Mario Gonzalez.
All three players were repetitively dangerous, although Gonzalez missed four high-quality chances in the first 10 minutes as LAFC overwhelmed the Rapids with passes that broke the visitor’s lines.
LAFC took what seemed like an inevitable lead in the 19th minute when Vela stormed down the middle of the field on the dribble and assisted to Mateusz Bogusz, whose deft touch took him to his right as he hit a dipping shot in the box over Colorado goalkeeper Marko Ilic.
For the 21-year-old Polish attacking midfielder, it was another bright moment in the center of LAFC’s offense.
“I think I’m best in the middle but it’s not my decision,” Bogusz said. “I will play wherever I can.”
As LAFC regrouped from an unheard-of 36 games two-thirds of the way through the season with a roster reinforced during the transfer window, having a variety of players to choose from is a boost for Coach Steve Cherundolo – especially if Vela stays healthy.
The 34-year-old LAFC captain gave his team a cushion at the half-hour mark, scoring for the ninth time in the MLS regular season (to go with seven assists) when Ilie Sanchez intercepted the ball and hit a first-time pass to the Mexican, who seamlessly turned and struck a shot low into the corner of the goal.
A short time later, defender Ryan Hollingshead netted his second goal in league play when he charged down the sideline toward the box and connected from a tight angle as Gonzalez made a run to the far post.
Cherundolo made good use of LAFC’s newfound depth throughout the second half and gave Cristian Olivera his first bit of action with the club after he joined as a U22 Initiative player at the end of the transfer window.
Olivera replaced Vela just after an hour and showed tremendous pace. The 21-year-old Uruguayan forward delivered LAFC’s fourth and final goal when Bouanga fed him the ball in the 83rd minute for a simple finish.
Goalkeeper John McCarthy made four saves against the anemic Rapids (3-11-10, 19 points), who have scored just 16 goals in 24 games this season, to preserve his eighth shutout of the season.
LAFC faces a quick turnaround and will travel to Charlotte for a match on Saturday before hosting Inter Miami and Lionel Messi on Sept. 3.
More to come on this story.