LA Galaxy beat D.C. United, 2-1, for second straight win

CARSON, Calif. -- A goal each from Marco Reus and Diego Fagundez on either side of halftime were enough to power the LA Galaxy to a 2-1 home win over D.C. United on Saturday, July 12, 2025.

Reus led the way for the Galaxy again after starting and ending a recycled set piece in the 23rd minute. 

After United failed to clear a Galaxy corner, the ball fell to Matheus Nascimento. The young forward instinctively touched the ball to Reus, where the German star had only to strike through the ball cleanly to beat D.C. Keeper Luis Barraza for the 1-0 lead.

The goal is the veteran’s 12th goal contribution in his last 12 games played, which brings his total on the year to five goals and seven assists. 

And the reason for his success simply comes down to Reus finally feeling healthy.

“Marco, I think right now for the last seven, eight weeks, feels good physically,” LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney said of the playmaker’s rich vein of form. He added that Reus is playing free from injury at the moment.

“One of the first times since he's gotten here where he just feels like he feels good, and now when he feels good, he just plays the game, and you can see his quality come out.”

Diego Fagundez got what turned out to be the game-winner when he picked up a loose ball deflection off a Joseph Painstil shot. The Uruguayan was in the right spot at the right time and passed the ball into the bottom left corner of Barraza’s net to put LA ahead 2-0 in the 53rd minute.

The goal, his fourth of the season, puts Fagundez closer to being in rare company in the history books. He stands on 77 goals and 76 assists, and will become just the fourth player in MLS history to reach the 80/80 club, or 80 goals and 80 assists.

But the experienced midfielder insists his motivation lies elsewhere.

“The work rate and everything that I give, that's what matters to me, and when winning games. Winning games is what people remember, not the achievements that personally you have,” Fagundez shared.

Despite this, Fagundez’s good play and goal won the day. His goal was critical, as the Galaxy survived a late United goal and intense pressure to wrap up the win. 

In the Galaxy’s lone blemish in the evening, United put together a good series of passes to find Joao Martins Peglow in the midfield. Peglow played a one-touch pass over the top of the Galaxy defense, where Gabriel Pirani picked up the ball in stride for a cool finish and to set up a nervy last 10 minutes at 2-1. 

But that would be the extent of United’s resistance. The Galaxy would battle through every agonizing moment of D.C.’s final push to snatch victory away from the hosts.

Vanney believes it might not have happened that way in an earlier game this campaign. 

“I said to the guys, I'm not sure we win this game earlier in the season. I think there's a possibility we give away the second goal because we didn't see these types of games out,” Vanney confessed. “We didn't have many leads at the beginning of the year. But I think we held steady. We did what we needed to do. We took the three points, and we move on to the next one.”

We Talkin' 'Bout Playoffs?

The Galaxy has now won two straight, is unbeaten in its last three matches, and has earned its third home win in as many games to bring them to 15 points on the season. The win also means they are tied on points with 14th-place St. Louis City, and have lifted themselves out of last place in the Supporters Shield race.

More importantly, they are starting to play themselves into the form they displayed last year, a title-winning season that culminated in a sixth championship. 

In a season fraught with letdowns, LA should be commended for being able to withstand late United pressure as they pushed to tie the match, and for hanging on for the win during the game’s nine-minute stoppage time period.

While they still have work to do and plenty of conference table to climb, the way they finished this game off will go a long way in building the momentum needed to even begin to think about the playoffs.

But Fagundez hasn’t completely ruled that possibility out.

"Look, do we believe we can make it? Of course. If we didn't believe it, we shouldn't be here. We just have to take it game by game. We have a lot of home games coming up. That's a huge part," Fagundez explained, of the Galaxy’s playoff prospects.

The Galaxy will have a few days off before hosting Austin in the last of a three-game home stand on Wednesday, July 16. If the Galaxy gets another win, it will set them up nicely for an El Tráfico date against city rivals LAFC on July 19.