Steve Cherundolo praises Carlos Vela: "He is a player who can change games".

Steve Cherundolo, coach of Los Angeles FC, was full of praise for Mexican striker Carlos Vela, after leading the first preseason match, in which the Los Angeles squad drew 1-1 against the New England Revolution.

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"It was great to see Carlos in the match. He is a player who can change games with his technical ability. You saw him again today, his passing, his vision, and his ability to combine, we all saw that. We also saw someone who physically could press at times, so it's a fantastic starting point. I'm looking forward to keeping him in the mix and in the training camp every day of the preseason," he said at the post-game conference held last Saturday night.

Cherundolo was named LAFC coach just a few weeks ago and has the challenge of returning the team to the playoffs after falling out of contention last season, something that happened for the first time in its history.

The tactician spent the 2021 season as coach of Las Vegas Lights in the USL Championship, which operated as an affiliate team of LAFC. He is among the most recognized players in U.S. national team history, with more than 15 years in Germany's Bundesliga.

LAFC vs. New England Revolution: Highlights

On Saturday, Carlos Vela and Steve Cherundolo's LAFC kicked off their preseason matches at the Banc of California Stadium against the New England Revolution in a match that ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Aztec and the 'Black&Gold' franchise had a tough match against Bruce Arena's team in a building that could count on some local fans.

For the first half of the match, both Cherundolo and Arena sent their best players to the field. LAFC had players such as Vela, Franco Escobar, Brian Rodríguez and Cristian Arango, while the Revs had an attack made up of Carles Gil, Adam Buksa and Gustavo Bou.

In the 25th minute of the first half, the Los Angeles squad suffered the expulsion of Colombian central defender Jesús Murillo, but since it was a friendly match, 19-year-old Senegalese Mamadou Fall was able to enter the field to continue eleven against eleven.

Towards the end of the first 45 minutes, the team that normally wears blue and red took the lead with a goal from 25-year-old Polish striker Buksa, and with that, they went into halftime with the advantage in their favor.

For the second half, both teams came out with 22 more players than those who had started the match. As the game progressed, it looked like the Foxborough institution would win in Los Angeles, but in the 86th minute, Mamadou Fall appeared to successfully convert a penalty kick and equalize the score.

LAFC will continue its preseason with the Coachella Valley Invitational from February 10-19 and will make its MLS 2022 debut against Colorado Rapids on February 26, while the New England Revolution will first play in the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 against AS Cavaly of Haiti.

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