There are 10 games left in the 2025 MLS season and the LA Galaxy are approximately 30 points off of the playoff line. A loss and a tie in recent matches have obligated them to win each of their remaining games to even have a chance of earning a place in the post-season.
Do the LA Galaxy still have something to fight for in the league or should the team shift focus towards other opportunities for silverware?
Protests continue amidst a difficult week for the LA Galaxy. They followed a midweek loss at home to Austin FC on July 16th with a stress-inducing 3-3 draw to LAFC at BMO Stadium on July 19th, leaving them with a total of 16 points after 24 matches.
With the playoff line in the MLS historically hovering around the 40 point mark and only 30 points left up for grabs in the season, the LA Galaxy have no choice but to go on an unprecedented 10-game winning streak if they want even a chance of playing soccer in late October.
Their first step towards what would be a historic comeback comes this Friday, July 25th as the Galaxy travel to east Texas to take on the Houston Dynamo.
The Texans are currently in 11th place in the Western Conference with 27 points, 11 more than the visiting Galaxy. While a win would only see the Galaxy rise up from the bottom of the conference should St. Louis City lose their game in hand, it would help cut the Galaxy’s distance to Houston to just eight points and could leave them just 10 points off of the current ninth-place team San Jose Earthquakes.
With a win against Houston and in every game after that the LA Galaxy would end the season with 46 points. That wouldn’t have been enough to make the playoffs last year (Portland Timbers qualified in ninth with 47 points), but 46 points would make the cut in 2023 when the San Jose Earthquakes qualified with 44 points.
Anything less than a win in Texas on Friday would likely set the Galaxy too far back of the playoff line.
The Earthquakes are currently the nine seed in the West with 29 points, averaging 1.75 points per game. If they were to continue that form in the remaining 10 games they would end the 2025 season with 46 points, just like the Galaxy would if they win all remaining games.
If the LA Galaxy were to pull off the improbable and go the rest of the year undefeated, they could be tied on points for the ninth place spot with San Jose, but goal difference (GD) would be the tie-breaker. The Earthquakes clear the Galaxy in this regard with a +4 GD, compared to LA’s -20 GD.
Even if the blue, white, and gold manage to go on a 10-game winning streak after not being able to string two wins together all year, they would need others ahead of them to underperform to even have a chance at playoffs.
With league success so unlikely it feels as if the Galaxy might be ready to turn their attention to other competitions.
Their Leagues Cup run begins next week, July 31st against Club Tijuana before they take on Cruz Azul on August 3rd and Santos Laguna on August 7th.
Taking their first Leagues Cup title would not only grant them an automatic spot in the round of 16 of next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup, but also prove that the team still has what it takes to compete against the top teams in North America.
They also have another chance at taking silverware against a Mexican team in the 7th edition of the Campeones Cup against Deportivo Toluca FC. LA will host the final at Dignity Health Sports Park and have a strong chance of numbing some of the pain from their worst season in club history with a trophy.
If the LA Galaxy intend on enjoying some sort of success this year it seems that their best chance of doing so will be by resting players in league games and going full steam ahead in these international tournaments. With Maya Yoshida and Gabriel Pec both likely unavailable for the match against Houston it could be that the time is ready to abandon hope for the league and commit to the title hunt elsewhere.
While a second consecutive MLS Cup title seems out of the picture, there’s still hope for the Galaxy to make something out of nothing.
PHOTO: ANDRE BANNIS//LAXSportsNation
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