LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 27, 2020

Bob Bradley

Press Conference

LAFC 4, Seattle 1

BOB BRADLEY: The reactions were at a high level. I thought the back line in different situations was connected and handled those things well. So we don't change that, the part on how we play, but I think when we lost balls, our reactions and our ability to control situations, that part was the best it's been.

Q. Speaking of your players, in your system, you've got players that can play across the front three, whether it Diego, Carlos or Brian. How important is it for the system to have that profile of player like Diego that if you want you can play them centrally, play them we positions, whatever the game dictates, he can do.

BOB BRADLEY: It's important. We do play with three attackers, but we want them to be active. We want our wide attackers to have an idea on how to compensate. We work on mixing up their positions when they play a little narrow, when they play more from outside in, and all those guys are talented players, able to take the ball when there's advantage and dribble, and real threats when balls turn over to be on the move.

And we still think that it an important part that when we win balls; that we want to make sure that we're getting those guys on the move and tonight did a much better job of that tonight than we did in the playoff game last year. Last year we had a lot of possession against Seattle, but we weren't enough of a threat throughout the game.

Q. I wanted to ask what I thought was the turning point of the game right after Seattle's goal, made a pretty big stop there, did you see that as a turning point in the game, as well, and was that kind of the response that you were looking for from one of your goalkeepers obviously you went with Kenneth tonight.

BOB BRADLEY: It's a big save at an important time. When you have a game and you've put a lot into it, you've had so many chances to go to 1-0 and then you've not cleared the ball, and all of a sudden it's 2-1, then there might be a moment where you need a big play.

And so I thought on that end, Kenneth came through for us and that really gives the group confidence when a goalkeeper comes through like that.

Q. Could you share a few observations on Diego? Is he in the best form of his LAFC career and what evolution have you seen of him from late?

BOB BRADLEY: I've talked about it earlier in the tournament. I mean, Diego has been a really good player every year, but he's grown. He's improved. He's worked really hard on his finishing. His ability to take balls on the move, to make runs through the defense, you know, he's relentless. I think all of us just feel good about how he's continued to develop.

Again, I mention the finishing because he's worked really hard at it, and you know, tonight was a night where even he said to me after that, he had more chances, but he's an excellent guy.

One of the things that we talked about after the Portland game is still how on the field we have a young team but leadership from Mark-Anthony, leadership from Edward, Eddie, Diego; that those guys got to really step up more and have personality and hold the other guys accountable, and Diego has really grown to handle that that kind of a role.