The game in 100 words (or less): It’s still early in the 2016 season — like, first-game-of-the-season early — and no one has any clue what to make of the LA Galaxy. (If they tell you they do, they’re lying.) I picked them to finish top of the West and probably win MLS Cup, but I’d be lying if I said I was wholly confident in that prediction, even after their 4-1 victory over D.C. United on Sunday. Sure, three points are great, and once you have them they can’t take them away from you, but those first 45 minutes are forever etched into my brain. Steven Gerrard is a passenger… in MLS. Ashley Cole really was on a beach during the first half. Giovani dos Santos doesn’t have a position and has really disappointed thus far. Is Mike Magee their savior? He scored twice, and might be. MLS has never known a team with a higher ceiling than the 2016 Galaxy; the league has also never known a team with more potential to go up in flames, either.
[ MORE: Previewing MLS First Kick 2016 ]
Three moments that mattered
5' — Neagle gets behind, grabs the early lead — Remember last year when the Galaxy midfield and defense were kind of old and kind of slow? Yeah, well, for the most part they still are. And that Gerrard giveaway? 2016 is the new 2015.
54' — Steres heads home in his MLS debut — Charlie’s right.
When an opponent scores a header inside your six-yard box without leaving his/her feet...something went wrong. #LAvDC
— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) March 7, 2016
64' — Magee chips Dykstra, makes it 2-1 to LA — Welcome back, Magic Mike. It’s not the most audacious chip in the history of soccer, but it was the most efficient route by which to put the ball into the back of the net.
Up & Over. @Magee18 puts @LAGalaxy ahead. #SoccerSunday https://t.co/avRJgsyLXA
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 7, 2016
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Man of the match: Mike Magee
Goalscorers: Neagle (5'), Steres (54'), Magee (64', 87'), Keane (83')
