The LA Galaxy are back in the Western Conference final.
Led by the two designated players that joined their team this offseason, the Galaxy return to the conference final for the first time since 2014. Gabriel Pec scored twice, including the opener in the first minute of the game, and Joseph Paintsil added a pair of goals to lead LA to a 6-2 win over Minnesota United on Sunday night. Forward Dejan Joveljić added two goals, as well, in the win.
IMMACULATE AURA AT THE DIGS ✨@JoveljicDejan bags a brace! pic.twitter.com/zF6PeW4v8U
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) November 25, 2024
The Galaxy spent approximately $20 million on transfer fees for Pec and Paintsil this offseason as they looked to return as one of the MLS elite. LA finished in 13th place out of 14 teams in the West last season and missed the playoffs. The failures led to an overhaul in the front office — Will Kuntz was promoted to general manager last December — and a refresh on the field.
The results were immediate.
In a postseason in which most of the top seeds have been eliminated, the Galaxy are the last of any of the top-three-seeded teams in either the Eastern or Western Conference to move on to their respective conference final.
“Pleased with the performance. It’s a tricky game after 23 days since the last game,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “The guys were great. We gave them some time off and then tried to build up and find the right moment to be at our best tonight and we were pretty good. I’m really happy with these guys, I’m proud of them. Some really good attacks, obviously six goals is a lot. … I’m proud of these guys.”
(Courtesy of Jeff Rueter / The Athletic)
The Galaxy gave the sellout crowd something to cheer about almost from the first whistle. After a quick turnover in midfield, Riqui Puig played a beautiful outside-of-the-foot curling pass out to Pec on the right wing, and the Brazilian did what he has done all season, beating his defender and scoring for a goal in the first 30 seconds.
TURN THIS TV ON 🗣️
Gabriel Pec puts away our first within minutes of kickoff! pic.twitter.com/U5YrW9t9Eh
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) November 24, 2024
Minnesota equalized in the sixth minute on a ridiculous goal by Kelvin Yeboah, who hit a screamer into the upper corner. The Galaxy reclaimed the lead in the 18th minute on a header from Joveljić off a cross from Marco Reus. Paintsil got his first of the night in the 37th minute to push the lead to 3-1.
Minnesota United pulled one back before halftime on a penalty from Yeboah, who got a chance to retake after his first poorly-taken penalty was saved only for John McCarthy to be ruled to be off his line.
The Galaxy took control in the second half, especially as the game opened up.
Pec had a magical solo run from inside his own half in the 50th minute to make it 4-2. Minnesota’s Jefferson Díaz was shown a second yellow in the 82nd minute and that gave the dangerous Galaxy attack even more space to work.
Paintsil added a second in the 86th minute and Joveljić closed it off in the 89th minute.
Only two teams in MLS scored more goals than the Galaxy this season — Lionel Messi’s Miami and Columbus — and the multi-faceted attack has continued to be deadly in the playoffs. The Galaxy have now scored 15 goals across just three games this postseason.
Next up: the Seattle Sounders, which downed crosstown rival LAFC on Saturday night. The Galaxy finished the regular season 13-1-3 at home and will host the conference final, looking for their first trip back to MLS Cup since winning the championship a decade ago.
“This is a tough team that is super resilient and they know how to win, the playoffs are their thing,” Vanney said of the Sounders. “They’re a really good defensive team, they’ve got some really good attacking players, as well. We know we’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ll celebrate a little bit tonight and think about the Sounders as we go.”
(Photo: Kelvin Kuo / Imagn Images)
