LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 28, 2020

Mohamed El Monir

Press Conference

Los Angeles Football Club 2, Houston Dynamo 1

Q. Why don't you start by giving us your thoughts on tonight's game and with only a couple of games left, tell us how you are preparing for the upcoming playoffs?

MOHAMED EL MONIR: Hi, everyone, so I think as everyone watched today's game wasn't a very easy game. We have been struggling with the points and all, so it's kind of like this is one of the like last chance, you know, like they want to make the playoffs, so they were going all in, and also what happened with us -- we came back from Orlando, wasn't easy for us with the guys who went to the national team the last few games, and with injuries, it wasn't easy to find, guys stepping in, getting good results -- it was a good win. We needed these three points after the Galaxy game.

As you said, we have two more games before the playoffs. The goal actually for us now -- the game today, yes, we get the three points, but you can see like nobody of the team is happy with the performance to be honest. We know what we can do and I think we are a little bit far from what we can do with the way how we can play. We just need to focus with the games close, for the guys to prepare, and we just keep working on the details and the mistakes we have sometime in the game so that we can be ready and we can go for the six points for the last two games before the playoffs.

Q. You were one of the best players, you seem very dynamic on both the defense and the offense. What are the things that Bob asked you to do on the field? What are the instructions that he gives you?

MOHAMED EL MONIR: I had a setback in the Seattle game, so none of us, me or Bob or anyone, actually planned this, and just happened and then we get the game, I performed not bad in Seattle and we won the game. Because of the injuries and the players on the national team was away, I had to keep playing in this position, Vancouver, obviously Portland.

I should be honest, the first two games was a little bit difficult for me. You know, generally, defensively, and all this stuff, there's not much difference defending one-on-one, all the set piece and all this stuff. But sometimes when you play against teams and they are like, okay, Mohamed playing -- his left foot -- just keep him on this guy. It wasn't that easy, actually, but from Portland game, and come until today, tonight game, I start to feel more like comfortable in this position and you know, I'm talking with the staff how to actually manage myself -- indiscernible -- with the way how we play, it's not just how we're making like high crosses or cross so many on the field. We are more dynamic looking for the paces and we can cross from behind it. And actually, my right foot is not -- is not really bad.

It doesn't like embarrass me so far, so I'm happy with it and with the performance, yeah, I think I had a good game but to be honest, that's not the point, you understand, if one guy gives a good performance or two guys, it doesn't make -- when you look generally how we play as a team that's the point because I may play good and we still lose the game, that makes no sense, you understand, to anyone, not to me, not to the team or not to the fans or even you guys.

It's good to have more than one guy to have a good game because that will keep pushing us off and we can get -- control the game, we can like, you know, have more chances and we can look much better on the field and that gives us more like comfortable and we feel much easier than just being -- contact and all this stuff.

Hopefully the next two games, or let's say from now on, that we can get everyone on the board; that everyone will play good and will have good performance that we can just, you know, push until the playoffs because as we say in the beginning of the year, I know it was crazy year for all of us but since the last year, we went out on the playoffs and also this year, actually, we set the goal that we want to go for the MLS Cup, we want to go for the CONCACAF, and it's not impossible. Yes, it's going up and down for us, but I still believe we have that goal and we are still going for it.