Galaxy crush Santos Laguna, will host Pachuca in Leagues Cup quarterfinal

CARSON, Calif. — The LA Galaxy delivered a statement performance when it mattered most, overwhelming Santos Laguna 4-0 in a chaotic, must-win Leagues Cup clash Thursday night at Dignity Health Sports Park. The comprehensive victory—fueled by early goals, two Santos red cards, and a late insurance strike—secured the Galaxy's place in the quarterfinals and a home matchup against Liga MX side Pachuca.

The Galaxy needed just 52 seconds to seize control. Joseph Paintsil, who struggled to finish chances against Cruz Azul, buried a low cross from Mauricio Cuevas on a play that started with Gabriel Pec to ignite the home crowd. The goal set the tone for a half defined by LA’s relentless pressure and Santos’ unraveling discipline.

"There was one team out tonight who was playing for something," Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said afterwards. "It was a really good start to the game and that, I felt like, set the tone. I also think they had a hard time figuring out how they were going to get pressure to us in the first half." 

By the 40th minute, Matheus Nascimento doubled the lead, pouncing on another Cuevas deliver to slot home from close range. 

Cuevas has become a creative force for LA during Leagues Cup, racking up three assists in the last two matches.

"There's no second guessing. He's just going and obviously when he gets into good crossing positions and he gets to spots, he delivers such a nice ball," Vanney said of the 22-year old fullback.

The chaos peaked in stoppage time: Santos forward Anthony Lozano was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle on Maya Yoshida, and moments later, the Galaxy captain tapped in a rebound to make it 3-0 before halftime.

The second half became a formality after Ramiro Sordo became Santos’ second dismissal, reducing the visitors to nine men. 

LA capitalized in the 74th minute when substitute Lucas Sanabria sent a shot toward goal and Nascimento hammered home the fourth goal, his second of the night, a strike that ultimately decided the Galaxy's seeding.

With Orlando City also sitting on seven points and a +6 goal differential, the Galaxy’s 10th goal of the group stage (to Orlando’s nine) proved to be the tiebreaker, clinching third place in the MLS-specific table.

The result sets up a home quarterfinal against the second place Liga MX finisher, Pachuca, on August 10, allowing the Galaxy to avoid defending Liga MX champions and first place finishers, Toluca. Seattle Sounders (9 pts) and Inter Miami (8 pts) claimed the top two MLS seeds, while Orlando City's +6 GD wasn't enough to overtake LA's +7 GD advantage.

"I haven't seen Pachuca a lot, just because I haven't put my attention that way. I know they're traditionally a very good team  and I know we will have to prepare and have a good plan and have the guys ready to go," Vanney said.

For a club that entered this competition floundering near the bottom of the MLS standings, the Galaxy have seemingly rediscovered themselves against Liga MX competition.

Whether this recent run of form during Leagues Cup will translate to MLS play is yet to be seen, but the first test comes this Sunday as the Galaxy host the Seattle Sounders, who also had an impressive showing in Leagues Cup, at 7:30 p.m. at Dignity Health Sports Park.