Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil and Maya Yoshida each scored first-half goals and the Los Angeles Galaxy held on in the 100th version of the California Clasico for a 4-3 victory over the visiting San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday at Carson, Calif.
Riqui Puig scored in the second half and John McCarthy made four saves as the Galaxy (5-1-3, 18 points) finished the weekend back in the top spot of the Western Conference.
The Galaxy, who played the final 27 minutes with 10 men after Eriq Zavaleta was called for a foul in the penalty area, improved to 48-33-19 against the Earthquakes across all competitions.
Rodrigues, Benjamin Kikanovic and Jeremy Ebobisse each scored goals for the Earthquakes (1-8-0, 3 points), who remained in last place amid a four-game losing streak. William Yarbrough made three saves as San Jose fell to 0-5-0 on the road.
LA began its determined start in the 14th minute when Pec scored off a rebound from the approaching Yarbrough for his second of the season.
Paintsil made it 2-0 in the 24th minute, his fourth, when he scored from the spot after San Jose’s Niko Tsakiris was called for a handball in the penalty area. Pec and Paintsil were the centerpiece of LA’s offseason roster transformation.
Yoshida made it 3-0 in the 30th minute with his second of the season when his header off a corner kick was deflected into the Earthquakes’ goal.
San Jose answered two minutes later when Rodrigues scored on a header from a deflected free kick, his first.
Puig scored his fourth of the season in the 56th minute to put LA up 4-1, before Kikanovic delivered on a header two minutes later, his third, to cut the deficit back to a pair of goals. Ebobisse scored from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute, his third.
The Galaxy are now second in MLS with 21 goals, one behind Inter Miami CF, with seven of those LA goals coming in a pair of victories over San Jose.
–Field Level Media
