LA Galaxy beat New York Red Bulls to win 6th MLS Cup

CARSON, California -- Goals from Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic extended the LA Galaxy's league-leading tally of MLS Cup titles to six with a 2-1 victory over the visiting New York Red Bulls.

Held at a sold-out Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday, the championship match quickly hit the ground running for the home side. Following a rapid buildup in the ninth minute from a Galaxy side that was missing injured star player Riqui Puig, midfielder Gastón Brugman played a through ball to Paintsil, who made it 1-0 after slotting the ball past Red Bulls keeper Carlos Coronel.

The Galaxy then quickly doubled their lead after Marky Delgado won back possession in the 13th minute and gave Joveljic the chance to pick up a pass, run forward and sneak a shot past Coronel to make it 2-0.

The Red Bulls eventually cut into the deficit with their first attempt of the match. After a chaotic sequence in the box following a corner, the Red Bulls were given a lifeline through a 28th minute goal from defender Sean Nealis.

Despite allowing the goal, the Galaxy held on through a more timid second half.

Eager to hold onto the scoreline, the home side sat back and invited pressure from the Red Bulls, who rarely tested goalkeeper John McCarthy. Although the Galaxy failed to capitalize on a few opportunities of their own in the final stages, their two goals from the first half were enough to cement a 2-1 win by the final whistle.

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The Galaxy, who now have a two-championship cushion over four-time winners D.C. United, ended a title drought that extended back to 2014. The Red Bulls, formerly known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, remain one of three original clubs to have never won an MLS Cup alongside the New England Revolution and FC Dallas.

The Galaxy finished 17-0-3 this season at their frequently renamed suburban stadium, where the sellout crowd of 26,812 for the final included several robust cheering sections of traveling Red Bulls supporters hoping to see their New Jersey-based club's breakthrough on the biggest stage in MLS.

The Galaxy's Greg Vanney became the fourth coach to win an MLS title with two clubs. The former Galaxy player also won it all with Toronto in 2017.

However, Vanney had previously lost three MLS Cup finals with LA as a player between 1996 and 2001. Entering this season, the Galaxy had only reached the postseason once under Vanney since he took over in 2021.

"I fell on my face three times as a player," Vanney said. "So finally to come back to the club that is home for me, I'm just, I'm proud. And I'm grateful for my family who puts up with me and my immersion in this project. I'm just really excited."

One of the players who filled in for Puig was Gastón Brugman, whose effort in the final earned him MVP honors.

"This is an amazing day," Brugman said. "I waited for this moment a lot of time. And I'm really happy for the fans, for Riqui, for the club, for us. It's an amazing day."

The club famous for employing global stars from David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Robbie Keane and Javier "Chicharito" Hernández rebuilt itself this season with lesser-known young talents from around the world.

The Galaxy signed Pec from Brazil and the Ghanaian Paintsil out of Belgium, and the duo combined with incumbent Serbian striker Joveljic to form a potent attack that could outscore almost any MLS opponent.

But the Galaxy also relied heavily on Puig, their Catalan catalyst and one of the best players in MLS. Puig stayed in last week's game after injuring his knee, and he even delivered the decisive pass to Joveljic for the game's only goal.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.