Riqui Puig may prove that bringing Barcelona players to MLS is a good strategy

The Galaxy may not always get it right, but Puig is looking like a success

Riqui Puig, who last year was making the gameday squad for Barcelona every week, is probably going to be a top MLS player.

You already know this instinctively, as someone who has seen Barcelona play soccer. Or, perhaps you just saw Puig pick up an unreal first assist in the league on the notoriously bad turf surface at Gillette Stadium. Either way, you probably knew that signing him was a good plan for the LA Galaxy.

Let’s say you’re a skeptic, though. A real “can he do it on a Wednesday night in Canada?” type. It’s not a completely indefensible position, given the struggles supposed superstars have had coming to MLS to play in 90% humidity after an eight-hour travel day with two connecting flights.

You could also be a keen MLS observer falling back on a pretty solid truism from recent years: the Galaxy do not do good plans. They flail around, sometimes it works, but it’s never what anyone would call strategic. The Galaxy signing Puig, if you’re in this category, points more towards Puig having some unknown issue than it does LA getting its act together.

So if you’re in either of those last two groups, Puig would like to offer a further rejoinder in the form of his first goal in the league.

With the Galaxy down 2-1 at Toronto FC in the 89th minute, having given up a late Federico Bernardeschi penalty to fall behind, LA needed some inspiration. Puig, pinned to the touchline at midfield, provided it. He burst through a seam, catching TFC on their heels, to play a one-two with GastĂłn Brugman.

Puig then used his first touch on the return pass to cut inside two Toronto defenders before rifling a 24-yard shot into the upper corner, equalizing out of nowhere to give the Galaxy a potentially crucial road draw.

So congrats to the early Puig adopters, and welcome to the party for the skeptics. The Galaxy may not always have good plans, but signing a player from Barcelona? It looks like a good one.

Watch Puig’s wonder goal

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