3:2 New York Los Angeles Tarek Rzatkowski Etienne Antuna Ibrahimovic 05.04.19 · League

Let's be honest here; we're not exactly fans of Chris Armas as manager. The deep reflection of Jesse Marsch has been replaced by budding exuberance. To each their own, we guess, and let the results speak for themselves. (So far, they have.) That being said, there is one area where Armas is better that his predecessor: substitutions and second-half adjustments. No, they don't always work (see Santos), but quite often they do... just like today, as second-half sub Derrick Etienne scored the winner in Metro's 3:2 comeback win over the LA Galaxy.

The new formation remained, with now-healthy Kemar Lawrence pushing Connor Lade to the right, Alex Muyl to midfield, and Omir Fernandez to the bench. Bradley Wright-Phillips missed his second straight game due to injury.

Amro Tarek got it going with his first Metro goal in the 15th minute. Marc Rzatkowski swung a free kick in the box, Tarek picked it up on the bounce and blasted the opener. Then, Daniel Royer looked to have scored on a breakaway, only for a delayed offside call to nullify it.

After Metro dominated for close to 40 minutes, LA completely changed the game in the next five. Balls over the top ended up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Metro defenders were caught napping. First the Swede passed to Uriel Antuna, who easily converted. Then he finished one himself, sending shocked Metro into the locker room shocked, their lead turned into a 2:1 deficit in mere moments.

But Armas adjusted. Fernandez went in the 54th, and the Metro offense, which had looked lost, suddenly awakened. Five minutes later, Metro evened it after a Lade run on the right. His first attempt to get the ball into the box hit a defender and went back at him, so instead he sent a low pass to an unmarked Rzatkowski. The German converted from the center of the box for his first goal of the year.

In the 67th, it was Royer's turn to find a wide open player in the middle of the box, this time Etienne. The sub slotted home what looked to be the go-ahead goal, only for it to be called back for offside (that dreadful goalkeeper "interference"). This time, VAR decided in Metro's favor, and this lead was theirs.

They kept the lead through a nervous rest of the match (it's quite clear that Tyler Adams has not been replaced), with the woodwork bailing them out once again, and Luis Robles being forced to make a couple of big saves. At the end, the second straight win came because of Armas' adjustments... but we still don't love him as manager.

Lineup: Robles, Tarek, Long, Parker, Lawrence, Lade, Davis, Rzatkowski, Muyl, Royer, White. Subs: Fernandez, Etienne, Ivan.