We keep on bringing the pop-punk references while the LA Galaxy continue to find new ways to disappoint their supporters.
They started a three-game road trip with an impressive loss to Sporting Kansas City that saw the team continue their streak of breaking all the wrong records.
The 2025 season has had a funny way of getting worse just when it no longer seems possible.
The LA Galaxy visited another struggling side in Sporting Kansas City during a moment of transition on Sunday, May 4th. Kansas recently parted ways with long-time coach Peter Vermes after 17-years. Now under the stewardship of interim head coach Kerry Savagnin, Sporting arrived to their Star Wars night in 12th place with the most goals conceded in the Western Conference.
These were all positive signs for an LA Galaxy side that’s struggled to score, especially as Greg Vanney finally got the opportunity to field his strongest possible 11 with every one of his players but Riqui Puig fully fit and available for selection.
Even with everything pointing in their favor, it didn’t take long for misfortune to rear its ugly head and set the Galaxy back as has happened all year so far.
Marco Reus got the pass wrong and Joseph Paintsil got the control wrong in attack, giving Sporting the opportunity to counter in the 13th minute. They quickly obliged through the right side, working the ball well across the pitch and towards Sporting captain Dániel Sallói on his 200th appearance for the club.
His pass to the recently-departed Dejan Joveljic was nowhere near the Serbian striker, but it still found its way to the back of John McCarthy’s net by way of Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida’s left heel.
The early own-goal ended up being Sporting’s only threat towards the Galaxy’s goal as they posted an expected goals statistic of 0.00 throughout the rest of the 90 minutes.
The Galaxy dominated the rest of the match, creating plenty of chances but struggling to find many clear-cut shots on goal.
Marco Reus got the chance to control the attack for the LA Galaxy with just his second 90-minute performance since signing for the Galaxy on August 15, 2024 (the first came during the dramatic 4-2 win against LAFC).
He put in a brilliant cross-field pass towards Gabriel Pec which put the young Brazilian in 1-on-1 with Sporting’s keeper in the 28th minute, but John Pulskamp did well to stand his ground and keep Pec’s shot from equalizing.
Chances like that seemed to go in for Pec more often than not in 2024, but neither he nor Joseph Paintsil has been able to find that killer instinct they each had last year.
Through his first 11 matches as an LA Galaxy player Gabriel Pec scored four goals and made 3 assists. This year Pec has only scored once in the first 11 games.
Although Joseph Paintsil has been forced to get up to speed during the regular season due to an injury which saw him miss the first six league games, it’s been a similar story for him as well. In his first five games of 2025 he’s only registered one assist, while at the same point in 2024 he had scored twice in addition to providing an assist.
Whether this downturn in form is due to the lack of Riqui Puig, a lack of confidence, or issues with fitness (most likely all of the above), it’ll be very difficult for their seasons to improve soon.
Both Pec and Paintsil left the game against Sporting Kansas City prematurely through injury, and while it’s too early to tell how long they’ll be out of commission, it’s hard to imagine the Galaxy doing any better with their two remaining designated players nursing injuries.
Greg Vanney did what he could to react in the moment to try and salvage a point in Kansas, bringing on wingbacks Julian Aude and Mauricio Cuevas to change the tactical setup, but it still wasn’t enough to create the much-needed goal.
Sporting Kansas City held on and became the first team in MLS to win a game without taking a single shot on target, once again putting the LA Galaxy on the wrong side of history. This season they’ve already logged the worst ever start to a campaign by a reigning MLS champion and with this most recent loss have matched the league record for most consecutive matches without a victory.
It’s incredible to recognize how poorly this campaign has been for the LA Galaxy. It’s unfortunate to think that there are few signs that things will improve soon. Things will need to change drastically right away for there to be any hope of a post-season.
PHOTO: ANDRE BANNIS PHOTOGRAPHY/LAXSportsNation
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