Alexis Manyoma scored the match winner in the 76th minute on an assist from Darren Yapi as the Colorado Rapids picked up a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night in Commerce City, Colo.
Yapi also scored a goal with assists from Paxten Aaronson and Hamzat Ojediran. Rafael Navarro tacked on a late brace for Colorado (2-1-0, 6 points), which won its second straight match.
Rapids goalkeeper Nico Hansen had four saves in place of usual starter Zack Steffen, who missed the match with a shoulder injury.
Joao Klauss tallied his fourth goal of the season on an assist from Gabriel Pec for the Galaxy (1-1-1, 4 points).
With a nifty step-over move, Yapi created a sliver of space and tucked a left-footed shot inside the far post as the Rapids took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute.
In the 32nd minute, Hansen was tested as he reached to his right to thwart Pec’s shot from 18 yards out.
Late in the first half, Hansen absorbed contact as he tracked Marco Reus’ pass to Pec and secured the save. Pec picked up a yellow card on the play.
Los Angeles built pressure on Hansen to start the second half. The Colorado goalie turned away a pair of shots in the 54th minute, but in the 56th minute, Pec lofted a pass to Klauss, whose back-post header leveled the match.
But Pec was sent off with a second yellow card after a tackle from behind of Navarro in the 60th minute, forcing Los Angeles to play the final 30 minutes a man down.
Yapi’s through ball connected with Manyoma for his first MLS goal from just outside the 6-yard box to restore Colorado’s lead.
Navarro added an insurance tally for a 3-1 lead when Keegan Rosenberry’s shot was saved by the goalkeeper but deflected right to Navarro for a tap-in goal in the 85th minute.
In the 89th minute, Navarro blasted a left-footed shot into the top-left corner for some additional insurance.
Colorado had over 61% of the possession, winning convincingly despite LA finishing with a 15-11 advantage in shots.
–Field Level Media
