The LA Galaxy’s ten-minute collapse in the Campeones Cup Final was a perfect synopsis of this painful season.
They gave up two leads and a last-minute winner to hand Deportivo Toluca FC the title and their fans one final disappointment.
2025 is just not the Galaxy’s year.
Their season came to a head on Wednesday night as the Campeones Cup Final offered them one last chance to put a positive spin on an otherwise dreadful campaign.
Things looked hopeful as Greg Vanney’s first-half setup poised the Galaxy for a solid start against a strong Toluca side who came into the match as Liga MX leaders and with 18 goals in their last five games.
Vanney repeated some key aspects of the formation from the recent 4-1 win over Sporting Kansas City, namely starting 18-year-old Harbor Miller as a left-winger to allow Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec to combine on the right side of the pitch.
Miller’s enthusiasm combined with the remaining Killer P’s obvious talents gave Toluca defenders much to think about.
Miller had a hot start, nearly scoring a screamer after showing off some quick feet in the box to create a great chance for himself in the third minute. Miller would continue to be threatening, having another highlight at the end of the first half when he received a deft pass from Elijah Wynder with a brilliant backheel touch to turn and blast a shot at Toluca keeper Luis Garcia.
Toluca created their fair-share of scary moments early on as well, when a shot from Nicolás Castro caught Novak Micovic flat-footed, but the shot luckily struck the post in the 14th minute.
The Galaxy kept pushing with their two-pronged attack until they ultimately found the breakthrough. A drive from Gabriel Pec in the 33rd minute was interrupted by a shove in the back from a Toluca defender inside the box. Diego Fagundez, Pec, and Paintsil were all seen trying to claim the penalty but it was the Uruguayan who stepped up and blasted the ball down the middle to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead.
The score held until the halftime whistle blew, at which point Toluca manager Antonio Mohamed and most of his bench rushed the referees, clearly unhappy. The scuffle earned Mohamed a straight red card and Toluca took to the pitch in the second-half without their manager on the sideline.
Even without Mohamed’s direct influence Toluca’s players seemed to find their stride in the second half as the balance of play shifted in their favor.
Maya Yoshida and Emiro Garcés did well to read the play and make quick recovery runs to keep Los Diablos Rojos at bay in open play, but set pieces returned to curse the Galaxy.
The ball landed to Nicolás Castro following a corner clearance and made sure to find the back of the net rather than the post with a strong effort from outside of the box in the 53rd minute.
Both sides continued to exchange blows with the score now level, but the tide continued to turn in Toluca’s favor as the match went on and the intensity increased.
Toluca scored in the 78th minute off of a set-piece routine to seemingly put themselves ahead, but the Galaxy were saved by a VAR check that erased the goal for offside.
Gabriel Pec went on to score a classy goal in almost the very next play after the restart.
Second-half substitute Mauricio Cuevas put in a cross which found the head of a Toluca defender, but the clearance was directed straight at Pec. The Brazilian reacted brilliantly to chest the ball down and stroke home what would have been the winner in the 84th minute.
Dignity Health Sports Park erupted, clearly the happiest it’s been since last December.
Unfortunately, the joy would be painfully short-lived as an incomprehensible foul call gave Toluca a near-perfect recreation of the set-piece they scored their ruled-out goal. The Galaxy failed to learn from the mistake they got bailed-out of and conceded another equalizer in the 88th.
That wouldn’t be the end of the drama as tragedy struck from set-pieces once again. A foul at the edge of the box in the final minute of extra time gave Alexis Vega a golden opportunity to test Micovic, who was forced to respond with a spectacular save.
Micovic’s heroic effort led to a corner. Vega took it quick and played a short pass to Helinho. Pec followed Vega to cover the return pass, leaving John Nelson to cover the man with the ball. He stopped just short of applying any real pressure, and together he and Pec allowed Helinho the time and space to deliver a killer ball that found the outstretched leg of Federico Pereira.
With that Toluca made it 3-2 with the last kick of the game, earning themselves another title and sentencing the Galaxy players to watching another team lift a trophy in their own home stadium.
All the symptoms of the Galaxy’s 2025 season showed their ugly games in this fixture. Blown leads, an inability to defend set pieces, dejection when faced with adversity, and a general failure to win have haunted the LA Galaxy all year and continue to do so.
The team will take on their final three matches with nothing to play for besides their pride, which was battered after this devastating loss.
For fans, there is not much left to do but wait for the offseason and see what moves the front office makes. Riqui Puig is returning in 2026, but all eyes will be on the decision makers to see if they can eliminate the foundational issues that have persisted before, during, and after last year’s title run.
PHOTO: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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