LA Galaxy storm to record 6th MLS Cup title, beating New York Red Bulls and completing resurgence

CARSON, Calif. — The Los Angeles Galaxy sliced through and swept past the New York Red Bulls to their sixth MLS Cup title here on Saturday, and capped a resurgent 2024 season by claiming the trophy they once owned.

They raced out to a 2-0 lead in 13 minutes, then held on to win 2-1. Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic scored the goals. Resolute defenders preserved the advantage. Injured star Riqui Puig watched, then rode around the field on the back of his brilliant replacement, Gastón Brugman, as celebrations erupted.

And they did it all at their longtime fortress, Dignity Health Sports Park, where they didn’t lose all season. It rocked, and towels waved, as the Galaxy soared back to the top of Major League Soccer.

That’s where they spent the better part of two decades, from the league’s 1996 inception through the mid-2010s. They reached nine of the first 19 MLS Cup finals. They won five, and built a trophy case that no other MLS club has matched.

But as those other clubs modernized, the Galaxy fell behind. As the league evolved, they failed to evolve with it. For nearly a decade, they did not advance past the MLS quarterfinals; they missed the playoffs five times in seven years; they didn’t lift a trophy of any kind.

They also violated roster rules. Their transfer business felt unscientific and chaotic. By 2023, their most loyal fans were fed up. Prominent supporters groups began boycotting games, and helped force out the club president. Discontent seeped into the team facility and, coupled with injuries, led to the lowest finish in LA Galaxy history — 13th in the conference, 26th in the league.

In 2024, though, their turnaround was instant. Head coach Greg Vanney steadied the proverbial ship, and stuck to a long-term vision. New general manager Will Kuntz brought in Paintsil and Gabriel Pec, and a host of role players who propelled the Galaxy back toward pole position in the Western Conference.

They then marched through the playoffs, seemingly scoring goals at will. And on Saturday, from kickoff, they just kept marching. Paintsil sent a sold-out crowd into ecstasy within nine minutes.

In those opening exchanges, the Galaxy’s midfield replacements for Puig and Marco Reus also answered all sorts of questions about how they’d fare in the absence of two bonafide stars. In the buildup to Paintsil’s goal, Brugman and Edwin Cerrillo combined with a neat 1-2. Brugman then slid a perfectly-weighted through-ball to Paintsil — into a gap that appeared moments before kickoff, when rock-solid Red Bulls center back Andrés Reyes was scratched and replaced due to illness.

Four minutes after Painstil exploited that space, Joveljic attacked it again. He doubled the lead with a clever finish, and the SoCal party began. The Serbian striker imitated the iconic celebration of Galaxy great Robbie Keane, then bowed to the crowd. Both he and Paintsil held up Puig’s jersey — as the injured Spanish playmaker, sporting a suit jacket alongside family right behind the Galaxy bench, pumped his fists and beamed.

The partying, though, turned out to be premature.

For 25 minutes, as Vanney said at halftime, “we dominated in every aspect of the game. Then, in the 28th, out of nowhere, New York defender Sean Nealis halved the lead — and “we fell a little bit off of a cliff,” Vanney bemoaned. Just got a little bit passive,” and “conceded too much territory.” The Red Bulls threatened on set pieces. At halftime, they were 2-1 down, but very much back in the game.

After halftime, however, the Galaxy settled back into their rhythm.

And now, they can settle back into their MLS throne.

The league’s trophy, officially the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, is literally named after their owner, an MLS original. Now, it is once again the Galaxy’s turn to lift it.