CITY vs LA Galaxy: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

By Cole Sutton

After 52 days of waiting, the Boys in Red finally returned home to CITYPARK for some matinee MLS action, taking on the Western Conference-leading LA Galaxy and Marco Reus Sunday afternoon. With the Leagues Cup break in the rearview and the MLS Cup playoffs looming, CITY is now down to seven games left in the 2024 MLS season still chasing a playoff spot.

With a much anticipated nationally televised game on a holiday weekend, and a European legend coming to town, CITYPARK was abuzz shortly before the mid-day kickoff against what could be an MLS Cup contender. While LA was favored heavily, St. Louis' newcomers Cedric Teuchert and Marcel Hartel showcased their quality with another set of incredible performances leading to a 2-1 upset win for CITY.

We recap the Good, the Bad & the Ugly from Sunday's victory:

The Good

While CITY came away with a much-needed three points, another great sight from Sunday afternoon was the return of both Rasmus Alm and João Klauss. Both have been sidelined since June with their respective injuries, and it seemed a break due to Leagues Cup action came at the perfect time to give the two players ample time to rest and recover.

Alm, who usually accompanies Célio Pompeu as a winger on the right-hand side, is known for his impressive speed and high motor both in transition and pressing defensively. While the Sweden native has had trouble staying healthy, he would bring a huge boost in energy to CITY once returning to full fitness. While he may not have the numbers that some do statistically (only four goals and six assists with the club) his intensity and work rate on the pitch are qualities St. Louis desperately needs.

While he has struggled to score goals at times this season, Klauss is another face that CITY fans are excited to see return to action. With only five goals and three assists in 2024 (10 goals and four assists in one less game last season), there has been a bit of pushback from fans on social media about the fan-favorite's ability as a true striker.

Simon Belcher has proven himself to be a viable option up top as well, scoring three goals in only six matches across all competitions. Will Hackworth force Klauss back into his starting role once fully fit, or will he be forced to win the spot back from the former SLU product in Belcher?

Cedric Teuchert

Teuchert's impact was felt quickly after opening the scoring in front of the North End within 10 minutes of play. The Germany native showed great determination to stay with the ball after his first attempt was blocked by a Galaxy defender, slotting his second chance home and giving the home crowd something to cheer for early on. Despite signing as a Striker, Teuchert has shown incredible ability as an attacking midfielder on both sides of the ball. Finishing Sunday's effort in the 75th minute, the former Hannover man subbed off with a 7.9 rating, three total shots (two on target), 35 touches, four recoveries, and five duels won defensively.

Since joining the club in the July transfer window, Teuchert has four goals and one assist across all competitions, starting in all seven games dating back to the 1-1 draw at Sporting Kansas before Leagues Cup kicked off. We knew the final push of the regular season depended on the incoming signings made by Lutz & Co. and it seems they hit a home run with not one but two of the German acquisitions.

Marcel Hartel

The other big name from the summer transfer window was FC St. Pauli's Marcel Hartel who came over from the second division in Germany along with Teuchert. Lutz's Bundesliga roots have made an incredible impact on the club from their mindset on the pitch to the signings off of it, and there's no better example than Hartel.

Barring the travel issues he faced ahead of the Sporting Kansas clash, the 28-year-old has started every match since joining CITY in July and has paired beautifully with Löwen in the midfield. Hartel has racked up three goals and three assists (all assists coming in the 4-4 tie against Portland) in only 518 minutes of action. Hartel scored the game-winner against LA over the weekend with a beautiful one-touch finish at a time when CITY needed it most. He finished the match with a rating of 8.4 which led both clubs, 77% accurate passing, two chances created, 54 touches, three passes into the final third, four defensive recoveries, and five duels won. The usual central midfielder played out wide on the left flank beautifully and was voted the Man of the Match by CITY fans.

Jake Nerwinski

I will be fully transparent, Jake Nerwinski has never been high on my list of CITY defenders. With countless new faces joining the club, including two defensive players, I figured Nerwinski's time with St. Louis would come to an end at the end of the season. Although, after Sunday's performance, I may have to rethink my stance.

Nerwinski played incredibly along the right side against LA, controlling his flank well and cutting off numerous Galaxy chances. He finished with a 7.5 rating (best among CITY defenders), 83% accurate passing, one chance created, 71 touches, seven passes into the final third, eight defensive actions, and six recoveries. Nerwinski won numerous duels against the opposition's attackers and racked up three interceptions as well, confirming what my eyes deemed an incredible performance.

While I don't see him earning a starting spot anytime soon, Nerwinski would be a wonderful depth RB and could absolutely step in for multiple matches if Tomas Totland ever picked up an injury.

The Bad

Jannes Horn

I struggled to find a specific aspect or player from CITY to slot into the "Bad" category but eventually settled on another new face. Horn who transferred in from, you guessed it, Germany, struggled in his first start with CITY. Finishing with a team-low 6.4 rating, Horn completed 92% of his passes but struggled defensively. The 27-year-old played 65 minutes without winning a single tackle, zero interceptions, one block, one clearance, and two duels won according to FotMob's numbers.

While the FC Nürnberg product may have struggled Sunday, I fully believe he will be our long-term starter at left back while Jay Reid can also step up and get some experience at the MLS level as well.

The Ugly

CITY's Mindset with a Lead

Sitting in CITYPARK Sunday afternoon once Teuchert opened the scoring, I just knew that CITY would sit back and be content with their 1-0 lead going into the halftime break. That mindset was quickly thrown out the window as LA scored their equalizer before I even returned to my seat! Once the Galaxy leveled the match, St. Louis seemed to turn the pressure back up and wasn't holding out for yet another draw.

While Hartel eventually gave the Boys in Red a winner, the trend of "parking the bus" and playing for a draw or holding onto a one-goal lead has been something that frustrates loads of CITY fans week after week. While Sunday afternoon ended with the home club taking all three points, St. Louis is tied with the NY Red Bulls for the most draws in MLS at 12, and I believe the mindset of holding onto results early instead of fighting for another "insurance goal" is absolutely correlated to CITY losing out on matches they could (or should) come out victorious. Especially when you realize that the boys have yet to win a match outside of CITYPARK this season.

Looking Ahead

Up next, CITY will travel to New England to take on the Revolution and former vice-captain Tim Parker on September 7th. Followed by a return to CITYPARK to take on Minnesota United on the 14th, as the number of home games dwindles to three remaining after the Galaxy victory.