LAFC beat their cross-town rival LA Galaxy 3-2

LAFC #7 Latif Blessing (Forward) in attack mode gainst the LA Galaxy. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.

LOS ANGELES, CA - Gareth Bale, who had just been signed, watched from the stands as his new team, Los Angeles FC, defeated the LA Galaxy 3-2 in a nail-biting match on Friday in front of a boisterous Banc of California crowd.

Los Angeles FC (12-4-3, 39 points), which leads Major League Soccer in both victories and points in the standings, scored twice from Jose Cifuentes and added a third from Cristian Arango.

Samuel Grandsir and Rayan Raveloson scored goals in the second half to give the Galaxy (8-7-3, 27 points) a victory. In the 81st minute, the latter brought the opponents within one goal, but LAFC held on to earn the three points.

With seven victories and three ties in the previous 15 minutes, the Galaxy has shown to be the superior team in the El Trafico rivalry's history. However, they were on the back foot for the first 16 minutes of the game as Arango had a few good opportunities. Cifuentes headed Kellyn Acosta's corner kick into the goal in the 17th minute to give LAFC the lead.

On a breakaway by Dejan Joveljic, the Galaxy had their first decent opportunity to level the game in the 20th minute, but LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau blocked the effort.

LA Galaxy #11 Samuel Gransir (Forward) and LAFC #24 Ryan Hollinhshed (Defender). Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1.

From that point on into the second half, the visitors played with more aggression, and in the 55th minute, Grandsir's low bouncer beat Crepeau after a wide feed from Raveloson. The goal brought the score to 1-1.

LAFC responded in just two minutes with two goals. In the 70th minute, Carlos Vela fired a ball toward the box, which Cifuentes intercepted with his head to give his team a 2-1 advantage. Arango then converted a long-range goal, with Vela once more giving the assist, and was hoisted onto a teammate's shoulders in celebration.

After Raveloson scored, the Galaxy didn't give up, but they were unable to score a goal to tie the game.

The Galaxy's five-match winning streak (3-0-2) against the more recent addition to the Los Angeles region was snapped by LAFC.

The Galaxy lost their last four games, going 1-2-1, while LAFC won their last seven, going 5-1-1.