The league's most storied franchise claimed their sixth MLS Cup after an absolutely dominant postseason run
CARSON, Calif. — The Los Angeles Galaxy are the 2024 MLS Champions, defeating the New York Red Bulls 2-1 Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in front of a sold-out crowd of 26,812 people. The league's most storied franchise claimed their sixth MLS Cup.
The Galaxy returned to the top of MLS after an absolutely dominant postseason run, defeating the Colorado Rapids, Minnesota United FC, Seattle Sounders and now RBNY. Spearheaded by their brilliant midfielder Riqui Puig throughout the playoffs, the Galaxy played the title game without the the ex-Barcelona star, who sustained a torn ACL in the Conference Final, making their achievement on Saturday even more impressive.
Goals from winger Joseph Paintsil and striker Dejan Jovelic secured the victory, while midfielder Gaston Brugman was named MLS Cup MVP after sliding into the starting XI in place of Puig against the Red Bulls.
For the away side, it was a bleak performance from the RBNY defense, conceding twice inside the opening 13 minutes. They earned a goal back through centerback Sean Nealis in the 28th minute, but another never came — despite a plethora of attacking chances.
It was an opportunity for RBNY to earn their first MLS Cup as an organization, with their 29th season in the league once again ending in disappointment. GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Dignity Health Sports Park.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowWINNER: Joseph Paintsil
The Ghanaian winger took his game to another level against the Red Bulls on Saturday, opening the scoring while putting his blistering pace on display all match. He was an absolute thorn in the side of defender Dylan Nealis, beating him on multiple occasions, including the first strike of the match.
Sent a sensational through-ball by Brugman, he fired home to hand the Galaxy an early 1-0 lead.
"The goal happened because Gaston knew, he already watched when I was in an empty space and when he made the touch, he just put it there," the 26-year-old winger told GOAL. "We train about this, and he had the space. And for me, to kill them it's always about my pace, and I know what I need to do – and it resulted in a goal."
In his debut season after arriving from Belgian side Genk ahead of 2024, the 26-year-old scored 10 goals and recorded another 10 assists, while adding another five goal-contributions during the postseason run.
"It means a lot to me, it means a lot to my family, it means a lot to Ghanaians, and the LA supporters, too," he said. "I can't even describe how I feel now. All I have to say is thanks to the work [of the team], to the LA fans, and to the people that support me."
AdvertisementIMGANLOSER: The RBNY defense
Ahead of the match, it was learned that star defender Andres Reyes would miss the match due to what was an apparent sudden illness. Young Swedish defender Noah Eile stepped in for him, but without a proper warmup or expectation to be playing from the opening whistle, the 22-year-old was caught out off-guard from the start.
Miscommunication with his defensive partners created an opening on Paintsil's goal, while on the second from Jovelic, the RBNY defense was once again victim of disorganization.
"It's not how we intended things to go," RBNY defender John Tolkin told GOAL. "We've dealt with adversity all year, and I thought Noah had a good game, so kudos to him for being ready. I know that's not an easy thing to do, in final especially – to be alerted right before we go in that he's starting. So, those things happen, and we've had that next man mentality all year. I'm happy for Noah."
Manager Sandro Schwarz rolled out with two inverted fullbacks and three central defenders, which was a tactic that had previously worked during their postseason run, but the Galaxy exploited it with through balls and lobbed aerial crosses.
In total, the Galaxy registered 12 shots on goal, with six of them ending up on target. However, their Xg (expected goals) was just a mere 1.3 — with poor defending, led by even worse communication, overshadowing any positives that RBNY put on display.
IMGANWINNER: LA Galaxy fans
The White and Gold faithful created one of the most impressive environments from a home fan perspective. For 90-straight minutes, they were loud, proud and consistently singing the name of their club. Speaking in the locker room after the match, Paintsil shared that the fans were the 12th member of the team.
"They've been faithful throughout the season since I came – they've been faithful to now, and I would say a very big thank you to them, because they've made us who we are now, with their voices and with their belief. They gave us that kind of adrenaline to also keep going, to keep fighting," Paintsil told GOAL. "They did everything we just needed. They did for us with their support, with their voice and it resulted in this fantastic moment, with the trophy."
Defender Jalen Neal doubled-down on Paintsil's reaction, with the U.S. youth international telling GOAL that "it means everything to have our fans supporting us through this, every single step of the way, through the ups and downs. It's ultimately what leads to a championship. So we can't thank them enough for what they've done.
"They had unconditional support throughout the season, whether the momentum was towards us or not. We were undefeated at home for a reason this year, and it showed through their support. So, you know, all credit to them for that part. They were really a different force to be reckoned with than us on the field today."
IMGANLOSER: Emil Forsberg
Ahead of Saturday's match, RBNY star Emil Forsberg told GOAL, “I came to win. Nothing else. That’s the ultimate goal, to win."
The Sweden international and former Bundesliga star, however, fell short on Saturday – failing to live up to his own personal ambitions, despite registering the corner kick that led to their lone goal.
"It's tough, I feel very angry, disappointed about everything, to be honest," he told GOAL. "The first 20 minutes, we were a bit sloppy, we gave them two goals and we had to work ourselves out from that."
Forsberg had their best chance of the game to draw level in the second half, too, turning and firing only to hit the post with less than 20 minutes left in the match.
"It wasn't my day. It was just heartbreaking to be honest," he said. "Sad, angry. I should make that one, but it wasn't that kind of day. I'm still proud of what we achieved together, I can't wait for next year. It was a tough season, but still happy about what we achieved together."