Gone are the days of LAFC yore, where we would score goals upon goals and rack up points both at home and on the road. Like the apothecary table in friends, this season is definitely not from yore. It’s from the Twilight Zone, with a little bit of the Upside Down sprinkled in. On Episode 161, LAFC makes its only appearance in an Eastern Conference home, as the Black and Gold travel to Atlanta to take on Josef Martinez and friends. In what was a microcosm of both teams’ seasons thus far, it was a fun-to-watch but ultimately unsatisfying first half of play, ending 0-0. Eduard Atuesta’s beautiful free kick to Mamadou Fall, resulting in a wonderful header that found the back of the net, was ultimately called offside in what looks to be the right call. Frustrating, but right. Romero made a couple of key saves for LAFC in the half. Fresh off the second half whistle, Atlanta benefitted from a poor touch by Murillo and pinpoint passing from Barco to Josef, and Atlanta was quickly on the board. LAFC tried to muster something in the second half, bringing on Arango for Brian Rodriguez, but ultimately, their effort fell flat. LAFC would remain scoreless for the second 45 minutes, and frustration turns into another poor result. LAFC falls 1-0.To make matters worse, in the 77th minute, Diego “Chiqui” Palacios went down with a non-contact knee injury that looked… bad. Like, really bad. We hope for the best but fear the worst for our beloved wing back. Also on this Episode, we wish a happy birthday to Papa Scarf, Scarf’s dad John, as well as Mohamed Traore and Rodrigo Pacheco. The episode also has notes of Christian Ramirez, hints of mentions of Staebek and Aberdeen, and finishes with a flourish of a rant by Scarf himself. It takes a lot to impress Filly! We will be back for more Black and Gold banter on Episode 162 as we break down Vancouver, but until then, try not to sharpen those pitchforks all that much!