Watch: LA Galaxy tactical blunder almost costs club game against lowly Montreal Impact

LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena got out-coached Wednesday in Montreal — by himself.

Apparently encouraged by what he saw from deploying a three-man backline in the 6-0 win against the Colorado Rapids last Friday, Arena tried the same tactic from the outset of the contest on the road in Montreal against the Eastern Conference basement dwelling Impact with almost catastrophic results.

Montreal’s heretofore anemic attack bagged two first half goals, forcing the Galaxy to belatedly install a four-man back line and come from behind to grab a 2-2 draw. The frantic fight back contributed to yellow cards defender Dan Gargan and Landon Donovan received, who will now miss Sunday’s game in San Jose against the Earthquakes. And the tactical error was compounded by the fact that the lone point from the road tie cost the Galaxy the opportunity to overtake the Seattle Sounders for the overall MLS lead with a win.

Oops.

“Yes, we switched,” Arena said after the game, “because we didn’t have the team I needed on the field to do the changes I was asking for. That`s my responsibility, because I put out a formation on the field that wasn’t effective with the players I put in the lineup. At halftime the message was to get a goal in, to get back in the game.”

Experienced striker Robbie Keane agreed with Arena’s assessment:

“You could see we didn’t have the personnel to play there, so when we went back to the original 4-4-2, then we got back into the game,” he said. “It was obvious to see.”

Fans could have told Arena he was playing with fire.

The three-man defensive corps included much-maligned Brazilian defender Leonardo. While he didn’t make any of the huge defensive blunders he is known for, Leonardo also looked way too passive on at least one of the goals.

It’s unclear what Arena sees in Leonardo that virtually everyone else does not, but he wasn’t the only disappointment. So, too, was Stefan Ishizaki, who was hauled off at half time and replaced with Robbie Rogers when the switch was made, and seems to be regressing rather than progressing after a relatively bright start to his MLS career.

So should fans pat themselves collectively on the back and cluck “told you so’s” at Arena?

Hardly.

Another player fans love to hate, forward Alan Gordon, who was not known as a prolific goalscorer in his first go round with the Galaxy, scored the equalizer Wednesday and now has three goals in seven games since his return from San Jose.

Go figure.

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