Marco Reus flips Minnesota comeback into a 3-2 LA Galaxy win at Allianz Field

A game that turned twice before it was over

LA struck first, and did it in the cleanest way possible. Pablo Ruiz opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a left-footed free kick into the top-right corner, a finish that gave the Galaxy the early edge and seemed to fit a night in which they would end up with more of the ball, more passes and more corners.

Minnesota’s response was immediate in spirit, if not in the same minute. Marcus Caldeira brought the match level in the 23rd, rising in the middle of the box to head Wil Trapp’s cross into the high center of the goal. Seven minutes later, Kelvin Yeboah converted a penalty to the bottom-left corner, and the game had completely changed shape: LA had scored first, but Minnesota had built a 2-1 lead by the half-hour.

That sequence mattered because it showed the two ways Minnesota stayed dangerous even without owning possession. The Loons finished with 43.7 percent of the ball, yet still produced 15 shots and put five on target, matching LA in that category. They were not being played off the field. They were finding enough entries into the match to punish the Galaxy, first through service into the box and then from the spot.

Reus gives the Galaxy a sharper ending

What LA had for most of the night was territorial evidence without a decisive final scoreline to show for it. The Galaxy finished at 56.3 percent possession, completed 423 passes, attempted 16 shots and won eight corners. That is the profile of a team spending plenty of time pushing the game, but until the 76th minute Minnesota’s lead held up.

Then Reus changed the texture of the finish. His cross following a set-piece situation found João Klauss for a header from the center of the box, tied at 2-2 in the 76th. Four minutes later, Calegari delivered the next telling ball into danger, and Reus met it with a left-footed finish from the center of the box for the winner. In the span of four minutes, LA went from chasing the match to owning the result.

That late swing should not hide how balanced the night was in several broad numbers. Both clubs put five shots on goal. Minnesota forced JT Marcinkowski into three saves, and LA forced Drake Callender into two. But soccer matches are not judged on symmetry; they are judged on decisive moments, and LA had the last two. Reus recorded one assist and one goal, Klauss put three of his four shots on target, and the Galaxy’s best attacking stretch came when the game most needed a finishing touch.

Our take: the score was decided by service and survival

Our take: Minnesota will look at this one as a missed chance to turn a strong first-half answer into at least a point. The concern is not simply that the Loons conceded three times; it is how those goals arrived. LA scored from a direct free kick, then from a cross after a set-piece situation, then from another cross in open play. Add in the Galaxy’s eight corners and 20 crosses, and the clearest area for improvement is defending dead balls and wide deliveries with more authority once the match tightens.

Our take: there was still enough in Minnesota’s attack to suggest the defeat was not about being passive. Caldeira scored from Trapp’s cross, Yeboah took his penalty well, and Minnesota’s 15 shots show the home side continued to create pressure points. But when a team leads from the 30th minute to the 76th and does not get a result, game control becomes part of the conversation. Whether that means calmer possession — Minnesota completed 311 passes to LA’s 423 — or fewer openings from the flanks, the numbers point more toward match management than attacking shortage.

Our take: the Galaxy deserve credit for persistence, but they also leave with a reminder that winning late does not erase earlier looseness. Minnesota scored twice in the first half, once on a headed finish from a cross and once from the penalty spot, and still reached five shots on target despite seeing less of the ball. For LA, the encouraging part is obvious: Ruiz supplied the early quality, and Reus authored the ending. The caution is just as obvious. If the Galaxy keep conceding that kind of access before halftime, not every late push will be enough to rescue them. On this night, though, their final quarter was worth the points.

Scoring moments

1. Period 1 · 12'

   Pablo Ruiz scored for LA Galaxy in minute 12.

2. Period 1 · 23'

   Marcus Caldeira scored for Minnesota United FC in minute 23. The assist went to Wil Trapp.

3. Period 1 · 30'

   Kelvin Yeboah scored for Minnesota United FC in minute 30.

4. Period 2 · 76'

   João Klauss scored for LA Galaxy in minute 76. The assist went to Marco Reus.

5. Period 2 · 80'

   Marco Reus scored for LA Galaxy in minute 80. The assist went to Calegari.