LA Galaxy cruised to victory against the Colorado Rapids in the first round of the MLS playoffs. Former Dortmund player Marco Reus was again used as a joker in the 4-1 win in game two.
Galaxy won the first game against Colorado 5-0 last weekend, sending a message that the team would not be taking anything for granted in this series. The Rapids needed to win the second game of the best-of-three series to avoid an early elimination.
But after just eight minutes, it seemed as though the game was going in the expected direction – and with a curious goal. Rapids keeper Steffen’s clearance struck striker Gabriel Pec outside the box and from a tight angle, the ball trundled into the empty goal (8′). The home side were not about to admit defeat in the Rocky Mountains and equalized through Larraz’s thunderous 20-meter shot (19′).
Colorado could have increased the pressure on Galaxy when Maxsö headed a corner on the crossbar, but the visitors struck again in first-half injury time. On the left wing, Paintsil was given too much space, the Ghanaian pulled inside and, from the edge of the box, he shot and, with the help of the inside post, put the shot into the far corner to make it 2-1 at half-time.
Paintsil übersieht Reus – Doppelpack Riqui Puig
Paintsil could have made the game safe with a little more vision in the 68th minute after the break, but Galaxy’s forward overlooked Reus, who had come on in the 65th minute, and opted for a shot of his own that went just wide. A pass to the former Borussia player would have given him a chance to score his second goal in a Galaxy shirt.
So the Californians had to hold their breath until the injury time, even though Rapid’s approaches to the goal did not pose the greatest danger. In the final minutes of the game, Riqui Puig once again became the Colorado scourge. With two goals, the former Barcelona pro put the game out of reach, increasing the final score to 4:1 and allowing him to be celebrated as the decisive man in both duels with a total of four goals.
Galaxy is now in the Conference Semi-Finals and will face the winner of the Real Salt Lake vs. Minnesota United duel. Minnesota won the first game in a penalty shootout.
