Tag: Riqui Puig

Giorgio Chiellini did not love Riqui Puig’s El Trafico goal celebration

Props to Chiellini for translating his insult into Puig’s native language

Riqui Puig scored a Lionel Messi-like goal against LAFC on Tuesday night, and he pulled out a Messi-like celebration to mark the moment.

The LA Galaxy midfielder picked the ball up near midfield in the second half of the match, and proceeded to expertly weave his way through LAFC’s defense en route to a sensational individual goal.

Just like Messi famously did in 2017 at the Santiago Bernabéu, Puig removed his jersey and lifted it up in front of his biggest rival’s fans — a fitting move for a former teammate of Messi’s at Barcelona.

Puig’s goal would help the Galaxy to a 2-0 win over LAFC in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16, a desperately needed result for a team currently in last place in the MLS Western Conference table.

Chiellini calls Puig a clown

Puig’s celebration did not go down well with LAFC supporters or, apparently, its players.

As Puig was giving a post-game interview, LAFC defender Giorgio Chiellini emerged from his locker room to see the midfielder talking to the press. The Italian quite loudly yelled “payaso” — the Spanish word for clown.

We have to give Chiellini props for not only stoking the flames of the El Tráfico rivalry, but also translating his insult into its recipient’s native language. Very thoughtful! 

[lawrence-related id=20309,20288,20275]G

LA Galaxy solve Nashville SC puzzle, advance to face LAFC in MLS playoffs

Goals called back couldn’t stop the Galaxy from a confident win

Despite finding themselves in a game that suited Nashville SC, the LA Galaxy have their first playoff win in three years.

A Galaxy side that has often struggled to cope when things get tough were kept to just seven shot attempts at home by Nashville, but showed real resolve to get a 1-0 playoff victory. The Western Conference’s fourth seed, managing a tactical battle with possession and patience, advanced thanks to just the second professional goal of defender Julián Araujo’s career.

Referee Armando Villarreal was a major factor, as he had to chalk off goals for both sides. First, Randall Leal ripped an eight-yard shot past Jonathan Bond in the 37th minute after Teal Bunbury beat Séga Coulibaly to a header. Villarreal, however, signaled for a foul on Bunbury, who seemed mystified by the decision.

Early in the second half, it was the Galaxy protesting a call. Riqui Puig lead a clinically-run counter, feinting to freeze Walker Zimmerman before slipping Chicharito in for an angled finish over Joe Willis. Chicharito danced in celebration, but VAR spotted some clear contact before the break forward between Julián Araujo and Hany Mukhtar.

After a three-minute check, Villarreal saw the angle he needed, calling the goal back and keeping the game scoreless.

The Galaxy responded with complaints, but also with added energy, and Villarreal had no issues with the next time they put a ball past Willis. Moments after LA had hit the woodwork, Samuel Grandsir and Douglas Costa produced a clever exchange on the right, with Costa crossing for Araujo — making a clever long run from the right flank to the back post — to nod home just his second professional goal.

Puig slashed through the Nashville midfield again only to be denied a highlight-reel goal by Willis, but from there the teams swapped their stereotypical roles: Greg Vanney brought in Derrick Williams to go to a 5-4-1 formation, while Nashville began leaving plenty of numbers forward in hopes of an equalizer.

The Galaxy had to sweat it out in the final moments, with Jacob Shaffelburg firing just wide and Zimmerman nodding the final touch of the game to Mukhtar, only for the ball to bounce just barely out of the German MVP candidate’s reach.

A win for the Galaxy sets up a titanic edition of El Tráfico in the Western Conference semifinal on Thursday, October 20, as they’ll head across the City of Angels to take on LAFC. While the Galaxy have the historical edge in their city derby, their one and only playoff meeting saw LAFC win a 5-3 thriller back in 2019.

Watch the goal that sent the Galaxy through

[lawrence-related id=8352,7706,1458]

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 Gastón 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

[lawrence-related id=6633,6391,5563]

¡Qué golazo! La dupla Chicharito-Puig ya empezó a dar resultados

Hernández sigue respondiendo con goles a la confianza del Galaxy y en los últimos partidos se ha hecho presente en el marcador

¡Un golazo! La dupla Riqui Puig y Javier Hernández ya dio resultados y anoche el L.A. Galaxy amplió el marcador de la victoria 1-2 ante el New England Revolution con una conexión mágica entre estos dos futbolistas.

Apenas a los 15 minutos de juego cuando Chicharito ya había dado una asistencia para el gol tempranero de Daniel Aguirre, vino un pase filtrado exquisito del mediocampista español que dejó al goleador mexicano solo frente al arco.

Puig recuperó un rebote en medio campo y observó el olfato goleador de Chicharito Hernández que de inmediato desprendió al ataque y sin dejar caer la pelota filtró de bolea al mexicano que controló, se acomodó y fusiló la portero rival.

Hernández sigue respondiendo con goles a la confianza del Galaxy y en los últimos partidos se ha hecho presente en el marcador: asistencia y gol contra New England, gol ante Seattle, gol y asistencia contra Vancouver y doblete ante Kansas City.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Riqui Puig marked his first MLS start with a ridiculous assist

Riqui Puig did not take long to show MLS the immense quality he possesses

Riqui Puig did not take long to show MLS the immense quality he possesses.

Making his first start for the LA Galaxy after his move from Barcelona, the 23-year-old dissected the New England Revolution defense with an inch-perfect through ball that Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez finished off to give the Galaxy an early 2-0 lead.

Puig hit a half-volley through the eye of a needle from some distance, registering one of the passes of the season in MLS.

Chicharito’s 15th-minute goal would prove to be the winner as the playoff-chasing Galaxy got a much-needed 2-1 win away at Gillette Stadium.

Puig went the full 90 in the match, one week after making his MLS debut off the bench against Seattle.

“He’s shifty, he’s quick, he gets on the other side of his guy,” said Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney after the game. “And he just kept working defensively through the entire game. His first 90 minutes, not easy, in New England, after a long trip, on turf. Welcome to MLS, Riqui. That was a tough one, but he was excellent. Just brought class with the whole game.”

Watch Puig’s assist to Chicharito

[listicle id=6572]

Riqui Puig says he’d ‘never seen’ Barcelona treat players how they have this summer

“The truth is, it hurt me a lot”

Riqui Puig’s Barcelona exit was—perhaps unsurprisingly given the chaotic summer at the club—not exactly painless.

Puig came up through La Masia, Barca’s vaunted youth set-up, but completed a surprise move to the LA Galaxy during the summer transfer window.

Speaking to AS from his new home stadium, Puig said Barca effectively chased him out of the club as part of a panicked series of moves designed to register their new signings for the 2022-23 La Liga season despite massive debts.

“It was a tough month because I had never seen that before, leaving players behind in Barcelona and going on a tour without them,” said Puig, who was stuck training with a handful of teammates in Barcelona while the club went on a preseason tour of the country he would end up moving to.

Puig said that while he wasn’t necessarily surprised that Barca’s financial bind forced them to move some players along, the method was not one he looks kindly on.

“Perhaps I understand the club’s position, they want to put pressure on players to leave, but there are other ways to do it,” explained Puig. “It was really difficult being in Barcelona, training alone, with four other teammates who were also there with me.”

The latest player to find themselves on the wrong end of the club’s methodology is U.S. men’s national team defender Sergiño Dest. Initially told he would be part of the club’s plans for the season, Dest has instead found himself frozen out, with Xavi indicating that the club wants him to leave so they can continue their endless spending.

Puig spent seven years with Barca, but said that being left home while the club went on a tour was a painful experience.

“After seven years at the club, being in Barcelona when all my teammates are in Los Angeles playing matches…well, the truth is that it hurt me a lot,” said Puig. “It’s a difficult situation and sometimes you have to make decisions and they have made this decision but I don’t agree with it.”

In the meantime, Puig has made his Galaxy debut over the weekend, subbing into a 3-3 draw with the Seattle Sounders.

[lawrence-related id=5987,5822,5563]

“La MLS será una de las mejores ligas del mundo”: Puig

El español dejó las filas del Barcelona para firmar por tres años con el L.A. Galaxy

La MLS será a la larga una de las mejores ligas del mundo según la opinión de Riqui Puig, ex Barcelona y nuevo centrocampista del L.A. Galaxy.

El potencial de la MLS se basa en la calidad de jóvenes que está desarrollando, según el español que será compañero de Chicharito en el ataque angelino.

“A la larga, la MLS será una de las mejores ligas del mundo”…”Puedo estar bien físicamente y ponerme un poco más fuerte, y la verdad que tengo muchas ganas de empezar ya este nuevo capítulo”, agregó. Puig

sipa_usa

El español dejó las filas del Barcelona para firmar por tres años con el L.A. Galaxy donde buscará que su estilo de juego de retención de pelota se adapte perfectamente al planteamiento del técnico Gregg Vanney.

El mediocampista se describe como un pasador, que llena de asistencias a sus compañeros y con 22 años espera seguir desarrollando su potencial en busca de un mejor físico, algo que considera puede trabajar muy bien estando en Estados Unidos.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Riqui Puig leaves Barcelona for LA Galaxy in MLS transfer stunner

Puig’s move to the Galaxy is a game-changer for MLS

Riqui Puig leaving Barcelona is not an enormous shock. A move to MLS with the LA Galaxy, though? That’s major news.

One of Barca’s top young prospects is swapping the Mediterranean coast for the Pacific, signing with the Galaxy as the MLS transfer window comes to a close.

Surprisingly, the LA Times is reporting that Puig is joining the Galaxy on a free transfer. The Galaxy did not note terms of the deal beyond saying that Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) was involved. Per reports from Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona retained a percentage of any future transfer fee the Galaxy get if they move Puig on sometime in the future.

Puig, 22, has 57 appearances for Barca across all competitions since making his senior team debut in December 2018. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Puig has been a full-time member of the Barcelona squad, putting together 29 league appearances and scoring twice.

While MLS clubs have signed players from the world’s biggest clubs, it’s virtually unheard of for a player at this age who is regularly in uniform for a club like Barcelona to move to MLS, especially when the move involves a transfer fee. Puig made Xavi’s gameday squad in all 38 of Barca’s league matches in 2021-22, and appeared in each of their final four games of the season.

While Barcelona’s much-publicized financial problems may play a part here, it still seems like a move that shifts the terrain within MLS. Even the league’s most ambitious clubs have only just started to recruit players from Europe’s giants before they turn 30, with Toronto FC’s double swoop for Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi at the cutting edge.

Puig would figure to be the centerpiece for a Galaxy midfield that seems to be undergoing a major overhaul. Just this year, LA has traded for Mark Delgado, and only just signed Uruguayan ballwinner Gastón Brugman earlier in this transfer window. Rayan Raveloson, who joined the Galaxy in 2021, has played more minutes than any other field player on the team this season.

Greg Vanney’s side currently sit in ninth place, two points behind the Seattle Sounders for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

[lawrence-related id=4168,5368]