LA Galaxy rally past Minnesota United 3-2 behind Reus and Klauss braces

Minnesota United went up 2-1 before the half-hour mark and looked poised for a perfect night at Allianz Field. But LA Galaxy flipped the scoreline in barely four minutes of the second half and walked away with a 3-2 win in an MLS match that was settled in the final quarter of an hour.

The opening could not have been more direct: in the 11th minute, Pablo Ruiz curled a free kick with his left foot into the top corner to put the visitors up 0-1. Minnesota answered quickly. In the 22nd minute, Marcus Caldeira headed home a Wil Trapp cross to level the score, and seven minutes later, Kelvin Yeboah converted a penalty, awarded after Jakob Glesnes fouled Anthony Markanich inside the box, to make it 2-1 at the break.

LA Galaxy's turnaround

The second half took a different shape once João Klauss and Marco Reus came on in the 58th minute for Kyogo Furuhashi and Harbor Tarczynski-Miller. Both proved decisive: in the 75th minute, Klauss headed in a Reus cross that followed a foul to make it 2-2, and four minutes later, Reus himself finished with his left foot inside the box off a Calegari assist to make it 2-3, the final score. Minnesota pushed in the closing minutes, with shots from Nectarios Triantis and Jefferson Diaz failing to find the target.

By the numbers

LA Galaxy controlled possession and created the clearer chances, though the shot count was close overall.

By our estimate, calculated from the match's shot data, LA Galaxy produced 2.169 expected goals against 1.701 for Minnesota United, a gap that backs up the final result, even though both sides scored at or above what that number would have projected.

Our preview had given Minnesota United a 48% chance of winning, against a 26% chance of a draw and a 26% chance of a road win for LA Galaxy, with total expected goals of 3.12 (1.82 for the home side and 1.30 for the visitors). The result ended up contradicting that forecast: the team favored on paper fell at home, and the five total goals scored topped the projection.

What it means in the standings

In the MLS Western Conference, LA Galaxy came into this match in ninth place with 33 points from 27 games played (8 wins, 9 draws, 10 losses), while Minnesota United sat thirteen spots lower in the table, in 13th, with 29 points from 26 games (7 wins, 8 draws, 11 losses). The two sides were separated by 4 points before this game, a narrow gap that LA Galaxy's win at Allianz Field helps keep in its favor.

For Minnesota United, the loss stings because of how it happened: having the game won and then watching it slip away in four minutes. For LA Galaxy, the response sparked by the Klauss and Reus substitutions was the difference between claiming all three points and leaving empty-handed.