Chicharito and Riqui Puig score one minute apart to help LA Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo

One of the best ever players to have graced the MLS is Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández, and the Mexican striker has again been the top scorer at LA Galaxy through this campaign. On Sunday he closed out the regular season with another goal, his 18th, as the Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-1 on the road and will now host Nashville SC in the Playoffs.

Chicharito and Puig firing into playoffs

In many moments of the season Hernández has had to appear to rescue his team, and despite the fact that he has been questioned for missing some penalties, this day he was a key part of the victory. In a matter of minutes, with the team behind, Riqui Puig and Chicharito showed up to turn the result around.

The Aztec strike made it 1-2 and he got it with a trademark move, finding space and latching onto a pass into the inside right channel and firing home leaving goalkeeper Steve Clark with no chance.

It should be noted that since his arrival in the MLS, Hernández has not made it to the playoffs, but will now do so after surpassing his best record with other franchises. In 2021 he reached 17 goals despite missing about two months with a muscle injury. In his first season, one interrupted by the covid-19 pandemic, he only scored twice.

LA Galaxy can now look to their center forward and captain in the first phase of the postseason, where they will face Nashville SC led by attacking midfielder Hany Mukhtar, the 2022 MLS Golden Boot. The confrontation will take place on Saturday 15 October with the Los Angeles fans able to get right behind their heroes.