Los Angeles – It all started so well for the LA Galaxy before crashing down to Earth.
It took just one match for the LA Galaxy to be beaten at home after not tasting defeat in all of 2024 on their way to MLS Cup. The title-holders were shocked 2-0 by expansion team San Diego FC on Sunday, February 23, in their season and home opener, on a night when they unveiled their championship banner.
But that celebration and the trophy presentation that went along with it were about the only things that went well for the Galaxy on the night.
Neither team looked particularly sharp, but both escaped the first half without conceding. It all began to unravel for the Galaxy in the second half.
A calamitous mix-up in the defensive end by Goalkeeper Novak Mićović and Defender Emiro Garces led to San Diego Winger Anders Dreyer getting a pass alone in front of goal to score San Diego’s first-ever goal in the league early in the half.
With the Galaxy pushing for a late tying goal, San Diego and Dreyer struck again.
After a breakaway by Tomas Angel, the striker was patient and slipped a pass behind the Galaxy defense for Dreyer to stroke home the second goal and the dagger that would kill the game.
After sweeping teams aside with ease all campaign on their way to a sixth star, how did it go so wrong for the LA Galaxy in their first match of 2025?
LA Galaxy Post Match
A Needed Wake-Up Call?
It’s fair to say that the team, LA Galaxy fans, and even the betting odds underestimated San Diego.
The Galaxy played like everyone expected San Diego to, hesitant and without ideas in the attack.
If Galaxy players thought the visitors would come in and lay down just because LA was hanging a banner, they were quickly corrected. San Diego had the better of the opening exchanges and dominated possession, which is usually a hallmark of Galaxy Coach Greg Vanney’s teams.
By the end of the first half, San Diego had 59% possession at the home of the champions.
“They had a little party before the game, and we spoke about, ‘Let’s kill that party,'” Man-of-the-match Dreyer said in a post-match press conference.
And kill the party, they did. The Galaxy should’ve sensed trouble in the first 15 minutes as they struggled to retain the ball, and only last-ditch defending kept scores level. After a half in which they put out several fires, the pressure finally told in the second.
The Galaxy had no answer and could not find their way back into the match.
The silver lining to the loss is that LA no longer has to worry about a home unbeaten streak. Similarly, the loss to the expansion team should serve as a wake-up call for Vanney’s players.
Better to get the loss out of the way early during the regular season than in the playoffs when a loss ends your season.
Read More: 2024 LA Galaxy Among the Best Teams in MLS History
Trust the Process?
With so many key departures and injuries to Designated Players like Riqui Puig and Joseph Paintsil, there was bound to be a learning curve for the 2025 Galaxy.
Indeed, only five of the 11 players who started MLS Cup also started this match. And the growing pains from the team were evident.
After setting a goals record last year during the playoffs and regular season, the Galaxy created just one big chance all game.
The new-look Galaxy midfield looked lost, and the entire team suffered for it.
“I think between our midfield and between the guys in the build, I felt like we just were not positionally where we needed to be when we needed to be there and showing up and working off each other,” Vanney said about the lack of ideas post-match.
“We just looked a little disjointed, and that maybe means we weren’t prepared for where we needed to be with the new additions that we’re sliding into the group. It didn’t look like a team that just won the championship. We looked like a team that’s fitting some things together still.”
The champions were decimated in the offseason due to salary cap constraints and are nowhere close to last year’s team. Only the defense remains intact, while the only holdover from last year’s midfield is Edwin Cerrillo.
As such, it’ll take time for this team to gel and get used to playing with each other. Before Sunday’s loss, Marco Reus and new midfield signing Lucas Sanabria had played just one half of soccer together.
If the fluidity isn’t evident, it’s because it’s not there yet – but it will be. Vanney has multiple titles won for a reason.
Once Vanney’s players master his tactical system, they should start creating more chances and look more like the team that won MLS Cup last year.
The New Normal?
As seen above, the Galaxy needs time to connect with each other on the field and learn Vanney’s system. But with the season already underway and a loss under their belt, will they actually get it?
With every team in MLS gunning to take down the champs while they are wounded by defeat and missing players, they might not have that luxury. If the Galaxy continues to lose, Vanney might have to be pragmatic and use the pieces he has at his disposal differently.
The Galaxy coaching staff’s challenge will be to find a way to augment this team’s strengths without Painstil in the short term and Puig in the long term.
If they can’t or are unwilling to deviate from their system, the LA Galaxy might suffer through the season.
Sunday’s loss to San Diego might become the new normal.