ORLANDO, Florida – For much of the 2020 Major League Soccer season, Los Angeles FC found themselves in the position of not having forward Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi available either due to injury and illness, but that won’t be the case in Wednesday’s 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal with Cruz Azul.
Vela and Rossi are healthy and poised to summon up the same magic they displayed in the Round of 16 when they teamed up to score all three goals for LAFC in their 3-2 series win over Club Leon.
For LAFC Head Coach Bob Bradley, it is a welcomed sight to see Vela and Rossi back together again.
“We always know that when they’re both on the field, they complement each other and they help each other,” said Bradley in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com. “We have been able to still score a lot of goals without Carlos, but we are much better when Diego and Carlos are on the field together,” added Bradley.
Yet for all of the talk involving Vela and Rossi, Bradley stresses that the play of his defense will be just as important, especially to halt Cruz Azul’s dangerous attacking trio of Jonathan Rodriguez, Roberto Alvarado and Orbelin Pineda.
Add to the fact that Cruz Azul like to send numbers forward from the wings, Bradley sees a challenge coming for his team in defensive transition.
“They like to play their front three narrow, so in transition they use the outside backs for width, so our ability to come in quickly and defend will be really important,” concluded Bradley.
