Galaxy play "complete game" in 3-0 win over Vancouver

CARSON, Calif. -- There was more to celebrate than just fireworks as the LA Galaxy got a dream start and a brace from Joseph Painstil against the Vancouver Whitecaps to run out 3-0 winners at home on Friday, July 4, 2025.

The win is just the Galaxy’s second all year, and the first time they’d led by three goals in MLS this season.

According to Los Angeles Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney, a 90-minute performance from his team led to the victory.

“I thought we played a nice, complete game,” Vanney said in a post-match press conference. “I was pleased with the guys. I thought everybody worked for each other on the night. I thought everybody was connected.”

The LA Galaxy's Best Performance?

In one of their best performances of the season, the Galaxy probably could’ve had more than three goals.

Matheus Nascimento opened the scoring for LA with a heads-up play in the second minute. The on-loan Brazilian was first to a rebound after Vancouver Keeper Yohei Takaoka spilled Edwin Cerrillo’s long-range shot to put the Galaxy ahead 1-0.

Paintsil threatened Vancouver’s goal next. 

The Ghanaian winger was lively throughout the first half. He got into dangerous positions and had a few good chances to put a teammate through on goal, only to shoot straight at Takaoka several times. 

With Paintsil’s struggles recently, Galaxy fans thought they were destined to see a repeat of last week’s tie against San Jose, in which Paintsil wasted more than one chance.

With his daughter in the stands and his mother visiting from Ghana to watch him play for the first time since 2014, Painstil came alive in the second half, however.

“As you can see, I was also doing everything for my mom today and my kid, and I was putting more effort, running everywhere to defend, and I knew that it's going to happen. It's really going to happen,” Paintsil explained.

And it happened for him, indeed.

After a good transition led to a dangerous Galaxy counterattack, Marco Reus picked out an entirely open Paintsil with a sumptuous no-look one-time pass. Paintsil took a touch to steady himself and dispatched a strike into the bottom right of Takaoka’s net in cool fashion to give the Galaxy a 2-0 lead.

The goal gave Painstil enough confidence to grab the ball and head straight for the spot when Maya Yoshida was brought down for a penalty in the 75th minute. He took the penalty with confidence and scored to complete his brace and put the Galaxy ahead for the game’s final 3-0 scoreline.

“I think Joe, having scored the first goal, was feeling positive about his night, and stepped up and buried it,” Vanney shared about Painstil’s mood during the game.  

“It was good for Joe. Again, he's getting to a lot of good positions where he should be scoring goals, and tonight he took advantage of those moments. That's great for his confidence.”

A Good Showing on Both Sides of the Ball

The defensive effort the Galaxy showed will do wonders for the entire team’s confidence, in fact. In one of the more resilient games the Galaxy has put together all year, Novak Mićović made two huge saves on the way to his second shutout of the season.

One kept a Pedro Vite free kick from finding the top right corner and earned the keeper a round of congratulations from his teammates.  

The effort on both sides of the ball was the perfect way for the Galaxy to open their three-game home stand. Now Vanney’s team will try to build on this victory.

“It's a nice time to try to build momentum and try to take points, and we'll end up wherever we end up,” Vanney explained. 

“The key is one game at a time and try to take the maximum points, but do it in a way where we're playing each moment of the game the way it needs to be played.”

If the way forward produces the types of performances the Galaxy showed against Vancouver, they’ll find success. 

The reigning champs will have a week to revel in the important win before hosting D.C. United next weekend.