CARSON, Calif. — For 75 minutes, it looked like the LA Galaxy had finally turned a corner and were going to earn three points in the standings for the first time this year.
Then came 15 minutes of chaos that encapsulated their nightmare start to the 2025 season.
A controversial penalty and a catastrophic goalkeeping error saw the Galaxy surrender a lead in stunning fashion, falling 2-1 to Orlando City on Saturday night.
The result spoiled Joseph Paintsil’s return to the pitch, his first minutes played since the 2024 MLS Cup Final last December after suffering an injury to his quadriceps early in preseason.
“His preseason is going to be out there for everybody to see, he doesn’t get to do it out in Coachella where you get to make mistakes,” Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said. ”Unfortunately he has to go through it in the regular season while the team is pushing to get on the right side of some of these results.”
Blessings pic.twitter.com/rjDxIUUBbT
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) March 30, 2025
Paintsil was ecstatic to be back and despite the result, he knows the MLS season is a marathon not a sprint.
“We’re playing good football, but the result is what is not coming,” Paintsil said. “Football is always like that, you can start bad and then end up winning the championship again, people need to know we have a whole lot of games.”
Paintsil entered the match at the 60th minute, but he couldn’t leave his mark on the match.
The service, the finish! Christian Ramírez gives the @LAGalaxy the early lead.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 30, 2025
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Christian Ramirez's clever 14th-minute backheel goal - his fourth in as many matches across all competitions - had the Galaxy (0-4-2) playing with confidence rarely seen this season.
The goal had extra sentimental value for Ramirez, who was dealing with the death of his paternal grandfather during the match.
”My dad had a flight to Colombia to see his dad pass away. He was able to get there today and he passed during the game. I knew that he was watching by his side so it was cool to score in the moment,” Ramirez said.
LA controlled tempo, limited Orlando's chances, and appeared headed for their first victory after Ramirez’s goal.
Then came the collapse.
It started with a controversial penalty awarded to Orlando after Miki Yamane’s challenge on Eduard Atuesta. The play was reviewed and confirmed, although the validity of the penalty was questionable.
”The problem I have in this situation is there’s three other situations that are no less contact than that and he always looked at us as if we’re diving the whole time,” Greg Vanney said of the controversial call.
Martin Ojeda stepped up and buried his penalty kick to make it 1-1.
Then McCarthy's catastrophic error just before stoppage time compounded earlier frustration over the penalty decision. The veteran goalkeeper got both hands on Muriel's long-range shot but couldn't secure it, as he watched helplessly while the ball trickled over the line.
McCarthy now has made a crucial mistake that led to a goal in back-to-back weeks, while McCarthy has more experience, Novak Micovic is eagerly waiting on the bench to be the man between the posts for LA.
“Somebody needs to take ownership of it and be the guy,” Vanney said of his club’s goalkeeping troubles to start 2025. “There’s no reason why we’re giving up these types of goals.”
Next, the Galaxy will have a quick turnaround as they host Club Tigres in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup Tuesday at 8:15 p.m.