CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy knew they were getting something good when they heard Giovani dos Santos was on his way, but now that he's here and contributing, mightily, they're learning just how special the Mexican attacker is.
Dos Santos gave another clinic in Tuesday night's CONCACAF Champions League mauling of Guatemalan power Comunicaciones, assisting two goals and creating several more opportunities in his first 90-minute stint with LA.
He set up Mika Vayrynen's volley for the opener in the fifth minute, nearly scored seven minutes later, set up Alan Gordon for two chances before the break, volleyed just over the crossbar at the hour mark, then gave Robbie Keane a late tap-in as the Galaxy pulled away to the 5-0 result at StubHub Center.
“He did a little bit of everything tonight,” head coach Bruce Arena said. “He could have had some goals, obviously, if we could have been a little cleaner with him and found him a little bit earlier in and around the penalty area. But, on the night, his passing was good, his running off the ball was good. He had a very good night. I thought the effort he put in was tremendous.”
It's his ability to pop up anywhere in the attacking third and create scoring chances that has teammates swooning.
“We're always looking for each other,” said Keane, who scored twice after coming on to start the second half. “It's only going to get better. It's like we've been playing together for a long time, because we obviously know each other [from our time together at Tottenham], but it's certainly clicking. I think in nearly every game Gio has gotten an assist, probably. That's not bad, is it?”
It's not. He's got two goals and four assists in four appearances, scoring in both of his debuts – when LA trounced Trinidad and Tobago's Central FC in their CCL opener two weeks ago and again three days later in his first MLS game, a win over Seattle – and delivering the assist on the winning goal in the past three games.
“He's a classy player. He can do a lot of things,” said Gordon, who hadn't been on the field with dos Santos before Tuesday night, coming off when the Mexican star came off the bench in his debut and replacing him in the second half of the victories over Seattle and Dallas the past two weekends. “I've got to be on my game to see his movements, and I had a lot of fun tonight. He likes to move around, he likes to get the ball – I'd like to do it again sometime.”
Dos Santos' ability to bring others into the play, to create opportunities for them to succeed, has been impressive. He could have scored in the 87th minute and instead played the ball for Keane, who netted his 18th and 19th goals of the year, all competitions, in the final minutes.
“My first goal was a tap-in [from] Gio. That's what he does,” Keane said. “He's not a selfish player, he's a team player. He could have easily gone himself, taken it around the goalkeeper, but I think the most important thing is the easy option is always the best option.”
