Djordje Mihailovic didn’t have to wait until a warm day in May for his 2025 coming-out party.
His 48th-minute penalty and as good of a free kick you’ll ever see in the 80th minute from the Rapids’ No. 10 were enough to seal a needed 2-1 win over LAFC in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup first round.
In a similar fashion to last May’s free kick at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park against LAFC, Mihailovic tucked a screamer into the top left corner of Hugo Lloris’ goal to push the game to 2-0.
Here are three points from a frigid night in Commerce City:
Tests passed mentally, but more telling ones to come
Rapids coach Chris Armas itched for an early challenge this season like LAFC. He got what he wanted and more from the second-coldest game ever between two MLS teams (6 degrees at kickoff).
From early on, it was clear the game would be about solving a mental puzzle rather than a tactical one.
Center back Ian Murphy, who debuted in Andreas Maxsø’s absence due to a lower leg injury, dealt with shivering the entire game. Zack Steffen wore latex medical gloves under his goalie gloves. Mihailovic’s only aim on his free kick was to hit it as hard as he could — not much thought on the quality of contact despite the end result.
The pitch was basically a large slab of concrete painted green with white lines — change of direction was slow and ineffective and long balls bounced along like an overinflated basketball out of bounds or to the opposing keeper.
Nothing about the match, except maybe for the fact Kévin Cabral drew a penalty which Mihailovic buried, was normal. Both Rapids goals were LAFC mistakes near goal that Mihailovic pounced on. This game was about surviving, therefore it shouldn’t be seen as an omen or indicator of what’s still to come, tactically speaking.
“I think it’s a gutsy, gritty victory tonight against a good team,” Armas said. “There’s no two ways about it, it was really difficult for both teams. It was a gritty performance that was a big, big challenge that the guys dealt with just fine.”
Is a one-goal lead enough?
In a traditional two-game aggregate series, the away goal Aaron Long scored in the 86th minute at DSGP could prove fatal for the Rapids in this competition.
If LAFC wins at home next Tuesday by at least a goal, it will move on if Colorado doesn’t score. And in the Rapids’ last three games at BMO Stadium, they have not done so and have not given up fewer than three goals.
That said, there have been changes to both teams that favor the Rapids, or at least tip the scale toward an improvement on that stat. First, Rapids killer Mateusz Bogusz was sent to Liga MX’s Cruz Azul over the offseason. Of the seven goals LAFC scored at BMO Stadium against Colorado, he had four.
Second, the Rapids are finding success and comfort in re-tooling their defensive scheme. Center backs Murphy and Chidozie Awaziem, an old pairing in a new system, did well to limit French legend Olivier Giroud and outside back Reggie Cannon left it on the turf against Denis Bouanga.
On that end, the Rapids have a chance to prove they’ve turned a new leaf in 2025. Doing it at home in as adverse conditions as you’ll see is one thing; showing out against your bogey team at your bogey location is on another level.
“We’re going for victory,” Awaziem said. “We all have the mentality of winning, so we’re going to do everything we can to get those three points.”
Depth being challenged already
Perhaps the biggest challenge for next Tuesday’s series-decider will be in finding ways to deal with the depth challenges in defense. Late in the game Tuesday, Cannon went down with a leg injury that had some players screaming to the sideline for assistance and others wincing and looking away with their head in their hands.
He hobbled off the field with assistance, and while there’s no official update yet, odds are he’ll be out for the foreseeable future. That’s after Maxsø’s injury is being treated on a week-to-week basis at this point. And left back Sam Vines’s (soft-tissue leg injury) return to play isn’t guaranteed within the next week, either.
It doesn’t bode well for a team looking to get off to a hot start. But Jackson Travis played a good shift after subbing in for Cannon. And new signing Josh Atencio, who was reportedly in the process of converting to a center back at Seattle before his transfer to Colorado, could be ready to go by that time and could slot in as a third center back or a purely defensive d-mid.
The Rapids open their MLS season at St. Louis CITY on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. before heading to LA for the second leg of the CCC next Tuesday at 8 p.m.
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