The final time the Galaxy performed within the MLS Western Convention closing, Gabriel Pec was in elementary college, Joseph Paintsil was in junior excessive and Riqui Puig had simply entered Barcelona’s academy system.
It’s been some time.
However with all three gamers contributing to the scoring Sunday, the Galaxy discovered their means again to the convention championship recreation for the primary time in a decade with a 6-2 win over Minnesota United earlier than a sellout crowd of 26,192 at Dignity Well being Sports activities Park. They’ll meet the Seattle Sounders on Saturday in Carson, the place the Galaxy is unbeaten in 18 MLS video games. The winner of that recreation will host the MLS Cup closing Dec. 7.
The Galaxy haven’t simply returned to the playoff closing 4, although. They’ve pillaged and rampaged their means there, destroying everybody of their path whereas scoring 15 occasions in three playoff wins during which they’ve by no means trailed. The targets Sunday got here from the same old suspects with Pec, Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic all scoring targets in every half.
Learn extra:
In the event that they aren’t the very best crew in MLS, they’re actually the very best crew remaining.
Pec obtained the rout began 27 seconds after kickoff, operating on to Puig’s lengthy, bending-through ball from the middle circle, battling defender Jefferson Diaz for management within the penalty space, then beating Minnesota keeper Dayne St. Clair with a left-footed shot to the far submit.
It was the quickest playoff aim in franchise historical past.
Diaz helped get that again lower than 5 minutes later, threading a move by way of 4 Galaxy defenders to Kelvin Yeboah simply exterior the field. Yeboah then dribbled into the world earlier than lifting a left-footed shot round Maya Yoshida and below the crossbar to tie the sport.
The Galaxy went in entrance to remain within the 18th minute, and Pec was once more in the midst of issues, drawing a foul exterior the field on the precise wing. That led to a free kick that Marco Reus bent into the field for Joveljic, who outjumped 4 Minnesota defenders to nod the ball previous St. Clair for a 2-1 lead.
Pec, who led the Galaxy in scoring and led outfield gamers in minutes performed in the course of the common season, has taken his recreation to a different degree within the playoffs. He was so energetic Sunday, pushing forward within the assault then sprinting again on protection, that his white Galaxy equipment was coated in inexperienced stains halfway by way of the primary half, partly obscuring the No. 11 on his again.
The Galaxy added to their lead simply earlier than the intermission when Miki Yamane’s cross from the precise facet missed Joveljic in entrance of the aim however discovered Paintsil on the left facet of the six-yard field. He one-timed in a left-footed shot to make it 3-1.
Learn extra:
Yeboah halved the deficit on a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time. Galaxy keeper John McCarthy smothered Yeboah’s first strive however referee Rosendo Mendoza dominated McCarthy had left his line early and gave Yeboah a second likelihood, which he buried.
The 2 targets matched essentially the most the Galaxy have allowed in seven video games and essentially the most they’ve allowed at residence since April. However Minnesota would get no nearer with Pec doubling the lead within the fiftieth minute, making a 75-yard broken-field up the precise facet earlier than banking a smooth shot off the underside of the left submit and in whereas being shoved to the turf by Minnesota defender Michael Boxall.
With the end result already determined, Paintsil and Joveljic closed the scoring with targets within the 87th and 89th minutes. And the Galaxy may have had extra with St. Clair’s save on a 78th-minute penalty kick denying Pec a hat trick. Because it was, the six targets have been essentially the most for the Galaxy towards an MLS crew since September 2019.
However the domination was much more full on the sphere than it was on the scoreboard, with the Galaxy controlling the ball for greater than an hour of the 90 minutes, taking almost 3 times as many passes as Minnesota and finishing greater than 92% of them.
Minnesota completed its season with simply 10 males on the sphere after Diaz drew his second yellow of the evening for a foul on Pec and was despatched off within the 82nd minute.
This story initially appeared in .