Herediano piles on LA Galaxy misery in its latest MLS giant-killing | OneFootball

The great Concacaf Costa Rican Cinderella story continued on Wednesday night when CS Herediano issued yet another MLS team a deserved defeat, this time in the form of a 1-0 win over the LA Galaxy in Leg 1 of their Champions Cup round-of-16 series.

The reigning Costa Rican apertura champions may have only slightly edged the Galaxy in terms of total chances created, but theirs were higher in menace and quality. And while some will call this an upset, that perhaps should have been expected against an LA team currently missing three of last year's four key attackers.

Elias Aguilar scored his second goal of the competition, a gorgeous 65th-minute winner from beyond the box that fizzed just inside the far left post.

And while it's fair to say Herediano's run has owed at least in part to a favorable draw, after they also defeated a Real Salt Lake team in the middle of a roster overhaul, it's a good reminder that the Concacaf region is more than just the MLS-Liga MX rivalry.

The truth is Costa Rican sides have still won as many Concacaf club titles as MLS sides this century -- two each -- and that dynamic exists despite Herediano, Deportivpo Saprissa, and LD Alajuelense frequently being compelled to sell some of their best talent to MLS rosters while in their primes, only to return later.

On Wednesday night for example, FC Cincinnati fans would've recognized Allan Cruz in the center of Herediano's midfield. And the Deportivo Saprissa squad that lost in the first round to the Vancouver Whitecaps over two legs had several familiar MLS faces: Kendall Waston, David Guzman, Marvin Loria and Joseph Mora among them.

Where do the Galaxy get goals?

Meanwhile, the Galaxy were left to rue a problem that may have seemed unimaginable as early as last November: How to get enough goals to earn results.

But that shouldn't be surprising given the brutal timing of a wave of injuries that came right as LA was also parting with striker Dejan Joveljic due to roster rule compliance concerns.

With Riqui Puig (ACL) still out long term, Joseph Paintsil yet to return from a shorter layoff, you're talking about 38 of the 68 goals the Galaxy scored in MLS last season. Gabriel Pec and Marco Reus remain, but the former definitely looks impacted by the additional attention he is drawing now that defenses don't also have to monitor Puig.

Greg Vanney's men only have one goal through three matches in all competitions. Neither of their top two available strikers -- Christian Ramirez and Miguel Berry -- are truly starting caliber MLS forwards.

And you could be looking at a situation where Vanney may actually be relieved if the Galaxy doesn't turn it around in Leg 2, because it could provide more training time to try and figure out how to manufacture some more chances until Paintsil and then Puig return.