LAFC win Independence Day battle against LA Galaxy

As the fireworks went off all around the Rose Bowl Stadium for the Fourth of July El Tráfico, a crowd of 70,076 fans watched LAFC defeat LA Galaxy 2-1 to claim sole possession of first place in the MLS Western Conference. “Tied on points for first place, it was a very important game for us. We approached this match as a final,” LAFC defender Sergi Palencia said afterwards. 

Kei Kamara and Denís Bouanga scored across a 4-minute span in the first half, while the Galaxy scored once in the second half but were unable to penetrate LAFC's buoyed defenses further. Although the attendance fell short of last year’s record breaker, the contest yielded the second highest attendance of this season, and continued the six-year tradition of heated battles on the pitch and off the pitch as players and impassioned fans participated in the crosstown rivalry. There were a total of 21 fouls throughout the match and a brawl afterwards amongst supporters that resulted in 14 ejections. 

LAFC (43 points, 13-4-4) extended their unbeaten streak to 12 across all competitions, while the Galaxy’s winning streak was snapped at four.

“It’s always one more," LAFC defender Aaron Long said. "You always want one more. At the end of the game, you celebrate. It’s been amazing how we can get up for these games. And this one here is such a special one to get up for. When you play a derby match like this you can see our fans out there were absolutely incredible. Congratulations to them."

LA Galaxy’s John McCarthy made five saves, while LAFC’s Hugo Lloris had three. Kamara, registering his 147th regular-season MLS goal, leaped in the air to head in a corner kick from Mateusz Bogusz in the 40th minute. 

Bogusz has contributed to 12 goals in his last eight matches. Kamara nearly scored again on a header in the 77th minute, but McCarthy made a diving stop to keep it within one goal.

Bouanga scored his 14th goal of the season in the 44th minute converting converted a penalty shot after LAFC was awarded a penalty shot when video review confirmed Galaxy’s Julian Aude fouled Eduard Atuesta just inside the penalty area.

The Galaxy scored their sole goal in the 56th minute when Pec scored from eight yards out in the 56th minute off a Miki Yamade pass. While they were able to block most of LAFC's offense in the second half and maintain the majority of possession, they were unable to score against LAFC's heightened defensive awareness. "Don’t let them have too much time to think because when they have time, they are so dangerous," Palencia said. One of the largest factors in LAFC's success this season has been their growing ability to pair their attack with a strengthened backline. As the season continues, it's become as cohesive as the scoring intuition of their forwards. "If you deep dive into statistics, I think defensively we've been fantastic over the past eight weeks," head coach Steve Cherundolo explained. 

LAFC have now won two of three regular season matches against the LA Galaxy and are tied each with nine wins in the series overall. There's one Los Angeles rivalry match remaining in the regular season on September 14 that will be played at Dignity Health Sports Park. As always, it should be a hotly contested duel under the California sun.

LAFC head to Houston next for a 5:30 p.m. Saturday match against the Dynamo looking to continue their unbeaten path into the second half of the season as they prepare for their newest signing, Olivier Giroud, to join them later on this month.