LA Galaxy earned a hard-fought 2-1 Major League Soccer victory over New England Revolution at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night, turning a sharp first-half display into three valuable points despite a frantic finish.
Marco Reus opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 11th minute, giving the Galaxy an early foothold after New England defender William Sands had been booked a minute earlier. Reus made no mistake from 12 yards, setting the tone for a home side that was clinical with its limited openings.
The Galaxy doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute through Robert Taylor. The wide attacker finished the move to put LA 2-0 ahead, a lead they carried into half-time after producing three shots on target from eight total attempts.
New England controlled more of the ball, finishing with 52.2 percent possession, and built significant pressure as the match wore on. The Revolution registered 24 shots and seven efforts on target, compared with LA’s eight shots and three on target, but the Galaxy back line held firm for most of the second half.
Discipline became a factor after the interval, with Harbor Miller booked in the 59th minute and Hirving Lozano shown yellow three minutes later. New England’s Mamadou Fofana also entered the book in the 76th minute as the visitors pushed for a route back into the fixture.
That breakthrough finally arrived deep into added time. Carles Gil converted a penalty in the 90+6th minute to cut the deficit to one and create a tense final passage. But the Galaxy saw out the remaining moments to secure the 2-1 result.
The win gives LA Galaxy momentum heading into Wednesday’s home fixture against Vancouver Whitecaps. New England Revolution will look to respond when they travel to face New York City FC on the same night.
Goals
- LA Galaxy: Marco Reus (11′ pen), Robert Taylor (33′)
- New England Revolution: Carles Gil (90+6′ pen)
