Dominant to disaster: Implosion of Galaxy something to behold

The Los Angeles Galaxy made history in December when they beat the New York Red Bulls 2-1 in the Major League Soccer Cup final. The win delivered the Galaxy their league-leading sixth title and solidified Los Angeles' standing as one of North America's finest teams.

"This is kind of the stamp that we're back," Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said after lifting the trophy, per ESPN's Cesar Hernandez. "We've proven, I think, that we're back as an organization."

Vanney, whose team hasn't won an MLS game since the title game, may regret those words now. In 2025, the Galaxy (0-9-3) are winless and have a league-worst goal differential of -20. They capped a historically bad title defense on Saturday with a 7-0 loss to New York. 

A collapse like this isn't just bad luck. Everything is going wrong for the Galaxy at every level of the organization. Here are a few lowlights:

The front line is sidelined by injuries

Riqui Puig, the Galaxy's Spanish talisman, suffered a torn ACL during last season's playoff run and won't be healthy until well into this fall. The Galaxy knew this and had time to plan for his absence. What L.A. didn't know — and really couldn't have known — was that its other key attackers, Ghanaian winger Joseph Paintsil and Brazilian winger Gabriel Pec, would suffer injuries, too. 

The absence of Puig, Paintsil and Pec, coupled with the offseason sale of striker Dejan Joveljic to Sporting Kansas City, has rocked the team. The four players scored 54 goals combined during the 2024 regular season.

The players tasked with replacing that front line simply aren't delivering

The Galaxy signed German legend Marco Reus to cover for Puig as an attacking playmaker, but the 35-year-old is unable to compete in MLS. He has only two goals in seven games this season and is well off Puig's white-hot 2024 pace (13 goals).

But while Reus has attracted plenty of criticism from fans and pundits, it's Diego Fagundez who truly deserves their ire. Fagundez is 30 and an MLS lifer. He knows this league well and has no excuse for his lack of goal contributions this season (only one in 12 games). 

The Galaxy's defense isn't clicking

How bad is the Galaxy's back line this season? Let's count the ways:

• Goalkeepers John McCarthy and Novak Micovic have combined for a league-worst save percentage despite facing fewer shots than most goaltenders.
• The Galaxy's defenders have a league-worst record on tackles and interceptions.
• The Galaxy's defenders have recovered the ball from giveaways twice in 2025, and they've combined for the second-most errors (13) in the league.

It makes for grim reading, doesn't it? To be fair, the Galaxy's defense wasn't stellar in 2025, but the 54 goals scored by Puig, Paintsil, Pec and Joveljic helped offset that.

In perhaps the team's lowest moment of the season, the Galaxy lost May 4 to Sporting Kansas City without allowing a shot on goal.

Poor Edwin Cerrillo is a midfield island

Vanney has shuffled his midfield a whopping eight times this season to protect his struggling defense. American midfielder Cerrillo, the only player who has survived all eight changes, has been forced to work with a revolving door of partners in the center of the park. He's performed admirably under the circumstances, but the shuffling is not optimal for him.

The Galaxy will return to MLS play on Wednesday (May 14) at the Philadelphia Union (7-3-2).