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.
The Galaxy 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 ear-piercing 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 to a second-place finish in the Western Conference.
They then marched through the playoffs, seemingly scoring goals at will. And Saturday, from kickoff on, they just kept marching. Paintsil sent a sold-out crowd of 26,812 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 that started with a Warren G performance before kickoff truly began popping. The Serbian striker imitated the iconic celebration of Galaxy great Robbie Keane, then bowed to the electric 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.
LA Galaxy's Joseph Paintsil opened up the scoring in the 2024 MLS Cup against the NY Red Bulls, then held up the jersey of his injured teammate Riqui Puig. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)
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.
It's been all New York here in the final minutes of action, but try as they may, they can't break through the Galaxy's defensive wall.
6 minutes of stoppage time added
Armando Botello II
90'
During an injury stoppage, nearly all of the 26,812 in attendance shout for joy as injured Galaxy star Riqui Puig is shown on the big screen sitting on the sideline.
NY captain Forsberg misses wide right on an excellent opportunity that would've been the equalizer after a quick restart following a save on the other end.
LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney accurately sums up the first half in an interview with Apple:
"I was really satisfied with the first 20 to 25 minutes. We dominated that in every aspect of the game. And then I felt like we fell a little bit off of a cliff. Just got a little bit passive, we conceded too much territory. We’re allowing them to get too much field position, and they’re getting set pieces ..."
Says they have to “reorganize” and get pressure on the ball higher up the pitch.
"We've gotta stay foot-on-the-gas. We don't need to be protecting a 2-1, we need to be pushing the game."
Armando Botello II
HALFTIME: Galaxy 2-1 Red Bulls
At the end of 45 minutes, the Galaxy's early surge has the home team on top, but the Red Bulls' fluky goal gave the visitors new life.
Armando Botello II
47'
Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida dropped a dime into the box for Joveljic, but the Serbian couldn't convert his shot, which went straight into Coronel's waiting hands.
Armando Botello II
38' Yellow card
The second infraction of the day is shown to LA's Mark Delgado after he charged into NY's Emil Forsberg with the pair ending up on the turf.
I think the Gabriel Pec nutmeg tally is up to like five. Dude is an absolute menace.
The goal, no matter how fluky it was, seems to have shook the hosts a bit. Their defending on a few subsequent set pieces was also tentative. And they haven't been as confident on the ball.
It began with a neat 1-2 in midfield — the exact type of possession play that we weren't sure the Riqui Puig and Marco Reus replacements would be able to provide.
In fact, it was Gastón Brugman — often thought of primarily as a destroyer — who did his best Puig imitation: he slid a beautifully-weighted through-ball to Joseph Paintsil, whose shot slipped underneath Red Bulls keeper Coronel.
1-0!
Armando Botello II
9' GOAL
JOSEPH PAINTSIL DRILLS IT INTO THE BOX AND THE HOME TEAM IS UP 1-0! GASTON BRUGMAN SERVED IT UP BEAUTIFULLY!
Red Bulls: Fluky underdog, or underrated and dangerous?
On one hand, the Red Bulls won just 11 of 34 regular-season games; they only won three between June 2 and the start of the playoffs; they're the lowest seed, No. 7 in the East, to ever reach MLS Cup.
But a lot of analytics-based models think they're much better than that.
On Expected Goal Differential (xGD) — a measure of chance creation and concession — they were the third-best team throughout the regular season, behind only Columbus and LAFC.
Oh, and a big chunk of their barren stretch run came without Emil Forsberg, who was injured. With Forsberg in the team, they've been better than their full regular-season record suggests:
(fbref.com)
Armando Botello II
"Nobody Does it Better"
Warren G is on the mic, the fans have nearly filled the stadium and Carson, California, is ready to host the 2024 MLS Cup.
Henry Bushnell
Two MLS OGs finally meet in MLS Cup
The Galaxy and Red Bulls (formerly Metrostars) are both MLS originals. They actually met in their first-ever game, in MLS's inaugural season, in 1996.
But this is their first meeting in a final, largely because the Red Bulls have a relatively long history of playoff failures. They've only reached MLS Cup once, and never won it.
The Galaxy, on the other hand, have played in nine finals and won five. This is their 10th. Will it be their league-record sixth title?
They're favored, even without Puig, but I expect a tight game
Henry Bushnell
Red Bulls bring the hometown flavor
You might remember the New York Red Bulls as a glamorous club headlined by the likes of Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry.
You might see Emil Forsberg, who enjoyed a long career at RB Leipzig in Germany, and think they're still that same team.
But no. In fact, they haven't been that team for a while. Their engine, now, is their academy. Of today's starting 11, six are American, three are from New Jersey, and another two — the Nealis brothers, both defenders — are from Long Island.
Henry Bushnell
How will the Galaxy adjust without Puig, Reus?
Riqui Puig — who tore his ACL with around 30 minutes to go in the Western Conference final, then played the rest of the game and served up a game-winning assist in the Galaxy's 1-0 win over Seattle — was arguably the most impactful player in MLS over the entirety of the 2024 season, including the playoffs.
He's a massive loss, no matter how the Galaxy chose to replace him.
Still, the choice is notable. Many expected for Vanney to turn to attacking midfielder/winger Diego Fagundez in a central role. Instead, he went for Gaston Brugman, a defensive midfielder. That gives the Galaxy two true destroyers — Brugman and Edwin Cerrillo — and a very different look than the team that tore up MLS with a possession-based style. (And Marky Delgado, the other Puig/Reus replacement, is more scrappy than elegant.)
So, rather than try to replace Puig's playmaking and dominate the ball, LA's plan appears to be to solidify in midfield, and grind with the Red Bulls.
The impact of that choice is that more attacking onus will shift to the two Designated Players on the wing, both new additions this season: Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil.
Henry Bushnell
The lineups, in formation
Here's how the Galaxy and Red Bulls will set up, per the official team sheet.
Given the Galaxy injuries, no surprises.
The Galaxy will set up in their customary 4-3-3, and the Red Bulls in their 3-4-2-1. (MLS)
Henry Bushnell
Marco Reus on the bench
The big news within the starting lineups is that Marco Reus — the former Borussia Dortmund star who joined the Galaxy midseason — is only fit enough for the LA bench.
He felt something in his groin early in last Saturday's Western Conference final. Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said yesterday that Reus "trained fully" on Friday, and "should be ready to go tomorrow" ... but apparently he isn't, at least not fully.
And that's a big loss. Reus hasn't lit up MLS, but he would've stepped into an elevated role in the absence of Riqui Puig, who tore his ACL last weekend.
Without both of them, the Galaxy's midfield is significantly weakened. Marky Delgado and Gaston Brugman are the replacements.
Henry Bushnell
Lineups
Lineups are in. Here are the starting 11s:
Lineups for the 2024 MLS Cup final.
Henry Bushnell
Welcome to MLS Cup
We're just under an hour until kickoff at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Between now and then, we'll set the stage for a fascinating matchup — which could produce all sorts of drama, or a relative dud.
