Galaxy's early-season struggles continue in frustrating loss to Minnesota
The Galaxy are booed by some of their fans after failing to capitalize on scoring chances in a 2-1 loss to Minnesota that extends their winless streak.
Galaxy midfielder Gabriel Pec reacts during the second half of a 2-1 loss to Minnesota at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night. (Luiza Moraes / Getty Images) The MLS started play seven weeks ago but apparently someone forgot to tell the Galaxy , who continue to sleepwalk through a season that is rapidly slipping away from them. On Saturday, a pair of defensive mistakes led to two Minnesota United goals and a 2-1 loss that extended the Galaxy’s winless streak to four games in league play.
And it’s going to get harder, not easier, going forward for the Galaxy, who travel to Toluca, Mexico, on Wednesday for a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal, the first of six games the team will play in the next 21 days. Anthony Markanich and Kelvin Yeboah scored for Minnesota United (2-2-2) while the Galaxy goal came from Marco Reus . The Galaxy (1-3-2) was the better team for most of the first half, but they were once again plagued by indecision in the final third — especially in the first half when they outshot Minnesota 6-2.
And as a result, some promising scoring chances were wasted. Read more: Galaxy great Landon Donovan reveals his inner struggles in unconventional memoir They wasted another golden opportunity in the opening minutes of the second half when Gabriel Pec beat a pair of defenders up the right side and into the box, where he pulled up and pushed the ball into the center of the penalty area for an onrushing Reus. But the pass went behind Reus, allowing Minnesota to recover.
That proved costly less than a minute later when Markanich, racing up the center, got behind Galaxy defender Mauricio Cuevas to corral a long ball from Joaquín Pereyra, then beat keeper JT Marcinkowski cleanly. The Galaxy pleaded for an offside call but were ignored. Reus took matters into his hands to tie the score six minutes later, putting a sharp right-footed shot on goal that Drake Callender parried away, then jumped on the rebound with his left foot and lifting the ball over Callender, who was still on the ground.