Beset by injuries, personnel changes and self-inflicted errors on the pitch, the Galaxy are winless and dead last in the West
It was just four months ago that the LA Galaxy triumphantly lifted the 2024 MLS Cup, returning to the top for the first time in a decade, an era in which the roster sported the likes of Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane.
Gabriel Pec, 2024 MLS Newcomer of the Year, spearheaded the playoff run alongside Ghanaian sensation Joseph Paintsil and striker Dejan Joveljic. In the middle of the park, former Barcelona midfielder Riqui Puig ran the show, becoming one of the league's most exciting players over the regular season.
Coach Greg Vanney guided the LA Galaxy to a dramatic 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls that December day in Carson, California, cementing the team's MLS-record sixth title.
The Galaxy were, by all accounts, magnificent.
Their start to 2025 has been anything but. Fast-forward four months, and they're off to the worst title defense in MLS history. LA are winless in eight matches to begin the MLS campaign, were eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup and appear to be a team with little to no identity on the pitch.
They have three draws and five losses through eight weeks, have a minus-9 goal differential and are dead last in the Western Conference. Only CF Montreal have fewer than the Galaxy's three points.
Heads are hanging low, fingers are being pointed and fans are asking, "What gives?"
There's no single answer, but there are reasons why things have not gone to plan. Multiple injuries have plagued their roster and the offseason hit hard in terms of personnel changes – including the departure of Joveljic – and on the pitch, individual errors and a lack of confidence are taking a heavy toll.
There's an expectation that the reigning champs will bounce back, but right now, things are bleak. Why? GOAL takes a look.
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During their brilliant 2024 playoff run, Puig recorded a sublime assist in the Western Conference final match against the Seattle Sounders, leading the Galaxy to a 1-0 victory courtesy of an 86th-minute finish from Joveljic. In the closing stages of the match, the Spaniard suffered a torn ACL – but actually finished the game, helping propel the Galaxy the league's title match.
He missed the MLS Cup final, and is expected to miss the majority of the 2025 MLS season, as well.
One of their top performers last campaign with 13 goals and eight assists, Puig was the key component to their midfield and connecting them in transition. He boasted an incredible 87-percent passing rate, while completing a staggering 2,837 passes across the regular season.
Without him available in 2025, the Galaxy have been forced to try and play a different style of the game. No midfielder has been able to replicate his performances in linking all areas of the pitch, while still providing an attacking option. That's been problematic.
In addition to Puig, Paintsil was sidelined to begin the season, missing the first six matches with a lower leg injury. The Ghanaian returned on Matchday 7 – which may offer a glimmer of hope going forward – but his absence, paired with Puig, has loomed large.
Factor in multiple changes throughout the offseason, and it's been a new look LA in 2025.
AdvertisementAFPChanges in personnel
Joveljic parted ways with the Galaxy ahead of the season, swapping clubs for Sporting Kansas City, yielding LA $4M in return. In his place, LA acquired MLS veteran Christian Ramirez from the Columbus Crew, and while Ramirez has begun his tenure with the Galaxy with three goals in six appearances, he's no Joveljic.
MLS Cup MVP Gaston Brugman – Puig's replacement in the final – was also dealt in the offseason. The Uruguayan was exchanged for midfielder Sean Davis from Nashville SC – but before the season even began, the Galaxy unexpectedly waived Davis. Beneath Brugman in their Cup victory sat midfielder Marco Delgado, who also departed LA after winning the championship. In a stunning turn of events, he was traded to crosstown rivals LAFC for just $400,000 in allocation money.
That's three starters in MLS Cup, all departing before the 2025 season even began.
Their opening day roster included five changes to the starting XI from their MLS Cup-winning group. Only one change was made tactically by Vanney, and it was a change in net. MLS veteran John McCarthy was replaced by Serbian shotstopper Novak Micovic.
And the attack? Completely changed. No Puig, no Paintsil and no Joveljic. Just Pec.
The Brazilian winger, who has reportedly caught the eyes of both Liverpool and Arsenal, has struggled to begin 2025 without his three compatriots. The 24-year-old has just one goal and zero assists in six appearances to start the season after scoring 16 and assisting 12 last campaign.
Of course, blaming Pec for their results to start the campaign is entirely misguided – the winger has been left to hang, with little to support in the attack. However, there are immense expectations on his shoulders to elevate his game in 2025, and so far, he's been stagnant.
And beyond the attack, there have been real issues both on defense and in goal.
Getty Images SportIndividual errors
Micovic lasted just three games as their starter, conceding seven goals during that span. In their season opener, a 2-1 loss to San Diego FC, the Serbian misplayed a ball out of the back, leading to a deflection for SDFC's opening goal. It was the start of what has become a series of self-inflicted wounds that have plagued the club in the early season.
“I felt like, through the course of the game there were a lot of uncharacteristically, unforced errors," Vanney said after the game.
Then, in a 2-1 loss to Orlando City on Matchday 6, a last-minute free kick in the 90th minute from Orlando striker Luis Muriel saw the ball slip in and out of the hands of goalkeeper John McCarthy – who returned to the starting XI on Matchday 4 replacing Micovic – to hand the away side three points.
The MLS veteran committed an egregious error that resulted in – at minimum – two points lost.
"For me, there's no question what John McCarthy can do," Vanney said after the match. "This crisis crap is nonsense. We have two good goalkeepers, and they're both very capable. There's one job to do and I know what each of them is capable of doing. John has done it for an entire season. I have the utmost confidence in John… He can bounce back. So he made a mistake and on my team people are allowed to make mistakes. You just got to respond to them the right way and you got to bounce back."
Fast forward one week to Matchday 7, and central defender Mathias "Zanka" Jorgensen was the victim of sloppy defending and a misplayed touch in the box put the ball on a platter for attacker Diego Luna to double Real Salt Lake's lead in an eventual 2-0 victory. Vanney mentioned that "altitude" and the state of the "pitch" both played a role – but ultimately, it was another self-inflicted error.
"I think the field didn't help us out," he said. "But once again, we go back to the same thing. We shoot ourselves in the foot on some of those plays, and we get punished."
Vanney added that it's come a "frustrating" trend. Matchday 8? Another Zanka error, this time getting sent off for a DOGSO offense in the first half. The errors just keep mounting.
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Getty Images SportSo what's next?
The return of Paintsil might be the lone positive for LA right now, but for good reason. He logged 59 minutes against RSL on Matchday 7 and in their midweek Champions Cup match against Tigres – a 3-2 loss that eliminated them from the competition – he bagged one of their two goals.
On Matchday 8 he logged his first 90 minutes of the year. The Ghanaian offers a different look in their attack, and there's a chance that with his return, his previous partnership with Pec will help elevate his Brazilian teammate's game as well.
However, LA's prospects for the rest of the season could depend on how Vanney handles the coming weeks. With the elimination from the Champions Cup, LA now only has the regular season to focus on until the start of the Leagues Cup
“We need to mature more as a group and recognize the ebbs and flows in the game, and understanding when to take risk, when to not take risk, how to play in our vision," Vanney said after their elimination from the CONCACAF competition. "But also be be smart and be competent not to make errors that ultimately come back to hurt you in the long run, especially in a knockout tournament.
“We've got to stop putting ourselves in these deficits where we're having to fight back. We need to execute better if we want to turn these games into positive results so that we can start focusing on building ourselves back in the league one game at a time.”