The LA Galaxy lost their undefeated streak at Dignity Health Sports Park following a 0-2 loss to MLS newbies San Diego FC in their season opener.
The current cup holders weren’t able to replicate their 2024 form without the key players they lost to the transfer window and injuries.
The MLS is back, and the defending champions were honored with hosting rights for the league’s first-ever edition of Sunday Night Soccer, a weekly marquee fixture available on both MLS Season Pass and Apple TV+.
Their guests were San Diego FC, a brand-new organization that was tasked with starting life in the MLS against its most storied and most recent champion after just a month of training together.
San Diego’s would-be harsh welcome was eased by injuries to Galaxy star-men Riqui Puig and Joseph Paintsil and the losses of Dejan Joveljic, Mark Delgado, Gaston Brugman, and more to the transfer market.
The LA Galaxy were relatively toothless in the first half without these key players. As San Diego took some time to find their feet, neither side had a shot actually make it past the opposing defense until Diego Fagundez attempted to lob San Diego keeper Carlos Dos Santos in the 31st minute.
Gabriel Pec was burdened with driving the Galaxy forward almost entirely alone as the lone designated player on the night. He could get in behind a few times in the first half but was double-and-triple-teamed effectively by San Diego’s defense and hardly had a chance to shoot or provide danger any other way. He wasn’t supported much by the rest of the squad, who were almost all completely unable to get into the game.
Greg Vanney must have had harsh words for his players at the break, as the Galaxy started the second period much more positively. Some good combination play led to a good shooting chance from outside the box for Gabriel Pec in the 46th minute, but his left-footed effort ended in a simple catch for Dos Santos.
Although the Galaxy were looking reenergized, not everybody looked refocused as new number one Novak Micovic and Emiro Garcés worked against each other to give San Diego the breakthrough in the 52nd minute.
Micovic must have felt overwhelmed by San Diego’s press as he released a difficult pass toward Garcés, who struggled to react with a poor touch and lost his footing. Hirving Lozano pounced on the mistake and squared it to Anders Dreyer to score their first goal in club history.
The LA Galaxy tried to recover but was continuously stifled by San Diego’s organization. There was little room for the comeback without Riqui Puig’s magnetism or Joseph Paintsil’s blazing runs to take the defenders’ focus off a continuously more frustrated Gabriel Pec.
Vanney’s substitutions were successful in changing the game and giving the Galaxy more controlled possession and some direction in the attack. Miguel Berry and new signing Elijah Wynder came on in the 64th minute and seemed to breathe some wind into the team’s sails.
Miguel Berry’s energy and direct runs gave San Diego’s defenders something to think about in the middle of the park, giving Pec and Miki Yamane some room on the wing to operate.
This resulted in the Galaxy’s best chance of the night when Cerillo had some great interplay with Pec and Yamane on the right in the 78th minute, eventually slipping a great pass in behind, which Yamane squared across for Berry to attack. Dos Santos was unfortunately all over it, but the Galaxy’s changes had started to have some effect.
21-year-old debutant Elijah Wynder also looked to contribute, showing his great eye for attack with some great forward passing, including a tidy through ball for Pec in the 80th minute. He looked very at ease for a young man just making the jump to MLS from the 2nd division USL, and all he had to say during the post-match-presser when asked about the difference in level was that he felt comfortable.
Greg Vanney rightfully gave Marco Reus the start in place of the injured Riqui Puig (still multiple months away from recovering) in this match. Still, Wynder seemed to contribute to a much more dynamic period for the Galaxy and has made an excellent case for himself. It may be worth considering starting Wynder to give Los Angeles some attacking impetus from the first whistle in future matches.
Despite all the good substitutions offered, San Diego’s organization paid off once again late in added time. Dreyer started a slick counter with a brilliant pass around the defense at the halfway line before receiving the squared return pass inside the box and producing a brilliant finish off of the crossbar.
The 2-0 loss is the first at Dignity Health Sports Park since the final game of the 2023 season.
It’s clear that the Galaxy still have major holes to fill after a difficult transfer window.
Fortunately, some of those holes will be plugged with players already on the roster. While Riqui Puig’s return won’t be anytime soon, Joseph Paintsil should be back in just a couple of weeks, according to Greg Vanney.
In the meantime, Galaxy supporters can look forward to the new signing from Botafogo, Matheus Nascimento, becoming available for the next game against Vancouver on March 2nd as the visa issue that kept him out of the season opener should be sorted by the coming week.
The LA Galaxy seem to have plenty of work to do, but the good news is they have plenty of time to get it done as the 2025 MLS season has just begun.
PHOTO: Andrew Hernandez/LAXSportsNation
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