Giovani dos Santos says LA Galaxy teammates aren't recognizing his runs

Giovani dos Santos expressed frustration with his LA Galaxy teammates for not recognizing his runs toward goal in yet another defeat for the struggling MLS club.

The Galaxy fell 4-0 at Atlanta United on Wednesday, their second-straight defeat by that scoreline after a thrashing at home by Toronto FC four days earlier.

LA has the second-lowest points total in MLS, just one above Colorado, and with the exception of a 3-0 win over theRapids, the Galaxy have otherwise scored just two goals since Sigi Schmid replaced Curt Onalfoas manager in July.

Dos Santos insisted he was putting in the effort, but he faulted his teammates for not getting him the ball.

"I can make a run, but if your teammate doesn't see you then your run doesn't matter," Dos Santos said after the game. "There are a couple things right now that we're still building on. If you see last year, I remember my numbers were different.

"This time, I'm working harder than last year. I'm making good runs, but not getting recognition from the team."

Dos Santos has scored six goals this season, but his last came against San Jose on May 27 -- also the last time the Galaxy beat an MLS team other than the Rapids.

"It's difficult. When you don't get shots, you can't expect great things," the Mexico international said. "Everyone knows what we want. Especially it's frustrating [for me] because I know people look at me while I'm on the pitch.

"It's difficult, but you have to understand the situation as a team. We just need to keep working to come back stronger next game."

Schmid said the Galaxy's defending must improve before his team can begin to think about pushing forward.

"You can't attack if you can't defend," Schmid said. "You have to be able to defend in order to attack.

"You have to be able to hold on to the ball, and right now we are not doing a good job defending and we're not holding onto the ball well enough."

With five games remaining, the Galaxy have 28 points, five fewer than their worst-ever total of 33 points in 2008.