MLS
LA Galaxy vs LAFC summary: record crowd, score, goals, highlights | MLS
With an MLS-record crowd watching on at the Rose Bowl, Riqui Puig’s second-half winner gave the Galaxy victory over LAFC in Tuesday’s Los Angeles derby.
Riqui Puig scored the winner in front of an MLS-record crowd as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat Los Angeles FC 2-1 in ‘El Tráfico’ on Tuesday.
Puig turned home Tyler Boyd’s 72nd-minute cross to give the Galaxy a much-needed victory - the side’s first in five MLS games. For defending champions LAFC, meanwhile, defeat to their city rivals means they have now lost three in a row in the league.
Puig wins it after Ilie cancels out Boyd beauty
Earlier, Boyd had given the Galaxy a first-half lead with a stunning strike from the edge of the LAFC box. Receiving the ball on the left wing, the forward shook off defender Erik Dueñas, before cutting inside and curling a pinpoint effort past goalkeeper John McCarthy and into the top corner.
Just before the hour mark, Ilie Sánchez levelled for LAFC when he headed home Timothy Tillman’s corner at the near post - but 15 minutes later, Boyd led a Galaxy breakaway down the left wing, before squaring low into the area. Having outpaced Dueñas to get to the ball first, a stretching Puig poked it into the corner from close range, notching up only his second goal of the MLS campaign.
With eight minutes to go, LAFC skipper Carlos Vela rounded Galaxy keeper Jonathan Klinsmann to slot home what the Black and Gold briefly thought was the equaliser. However, the Mexican was rightly flagged offside.
And in the 90th minute, Dénis Bouanga spurned a golden opportunity to level for LAFC, the unmarked Gabon international heading over from six yards out.
‘El Tráfico’ breaks MLS attendance record
82,110 spectators were inside Pasadena’s Rose Bowl to see the Galaxy get back to winning ways - a turn-out that outstrips the previous MLS attendance record. Before Tuesday, the league’s largest single-game crowd had come in March 2022, when 74,479 watched Charlotte FC host the Galaxy at Bank of America Stadium.
Moved from the Galaxy’s regular home stadium, Dignity Health Sports Park, the clash at the Rose Bowl had been due to take place on MLS’ opening weekend at the end of February, only to be postponed due to extreme weather.
Where do Galaxy and LAFC sit in West?
Having earned their second win in a row in meetings with LAFC, the Galaxy remain second bottom of the Western Conference standings, but at least retain an outside chance of snatching a postseason place. LAFC slip to third in the West, but - despite their recent slump in form - remain on course to make the playoffs for the fifth time in their six-season MLS history.
- 1 Jonathan Bond (45')
- 44 Raheem Edwards (57')
- 18 Kelvin Leerdam
- 2 Calegari
- 17 Mavinga
- 8 Marky Delgado
- 6 Riqui Puig
- 5 Brugman
- 11 Tyler Boyd (89')
- 31 Preston Judd (57')
- 10 Douglas Costa
- Substitutes
- 9 Dejan Joveljic (57')
- 7 Efrain Alvarez
- 37 Daniel Aguirre (89')
- 33 Jonathan Klinsmann (45')
- 16 Rosell
- 19 Mauricio Cuevas
- 3 Julián Aude (57')
- 56 Jonathan Perez
- 77 John McCarthy
- 18 Erik Duenas
- 24 Ryan Hollingshead
- 14 Chiellini
- 2 Denil Maldonado
- 23 Kellyn Acosta (45')
- 6 Ilie (74')
- 11 Timothy Tillman (89')
- 99 Denis Bouanga
- 10 Vela
- Substitutes
- 27 Nathan Ordaz (89')
- 20 José Cifuentes (45')
- 1 Jakupovic
- 43 Diego Rosales
- 7 Stipe Biuk
- 80 Julian Gaines
- 19 Mateusz Bogusz (74')
- 17 Danny Crisostomo
Substitutions
Jonathan Klinsmann (45', Jonathan Bond), José Cifuentes (45', Kellyn Acosta), Julián Aude (57', Raheem Edwards), Dejan Joveljic (57', Preston Judd), Mateusz Bogusz (74', Ilie Sánchez), Nathan Ordaz (89', Timothy Tillman), Daniel Aguirre (89', Tyler Boyd)
Goals
1-0, 25': Tyler Boyd, 1-1, 56': Ilie, 2-1, 72': Riqui Puig
Cards
Referee: Victor Rivas
VAR Referee: Daniel Radford, Thomas Supple
Timothy Tillman (18',Yellow) Raheem Edwards (33',Yellow) Douglas Costa (53',Yellow) Denil Maldonado (69',Yellow) Julián Aude (71',Yellow) Erik Duenas (81',Yellow)
