LOS ANGELES (March 2, 2026) – Following his brace in the LA Galaxy’s 3-0 win over Charlotte FC at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night, forward João Klauss has been named to MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 2. The goals helped set a club record, with three goals in the first 12 minutes and 14 seconds of the match (Sanabria 8’, Klauss 11’, Klauss 13’), the fastest three-goal start in club history and sixth fastest in MLS.
Klauss responded to the momentum after Lucas Sanabria scored in the 8th minute against Charlotte FC. His first goal came in the 11th minute when Elijah Wynder’s through ball released Gabriel Pec down the right wing, and the Brazilian hit a low cross across the box to find his countryman, who buried the finish to extend the Galaxy’s lead to 2-0. Two minutes later, Klauss intercepted a back pass, cut inside, and curled a shot into the bottom‑right corner to give LA a 3–0 lead inside fifteen minutes.
With these two goals, Klauss scored his second and third goals of the campaign in just his second MLS regular season match with the Galaxy.
His first-ever Galaxy goal came 85 seconds into the club’s home opener and just three days after he recorded his first assist for LA in a critical moment for the side in Panama, a score that dug the Galaxy out from behind and helped the club an advantage in the Concacaf Champions Cup series with San Miguelito.
When asked what he likes about Klauss and what he brings to the roster, Head Coach Greg Vanney responded: “He sets the tone. When everybody behind looks to the guy in front who is working like he's working, you have no choice but to work with him. That's what I love. His mentality has been fantastic. He's a great guy for our locker room, and when he goes out there, he goes out there to work. He leads us on the defensive side. Never takes shortcuts. Obviously, he's big and he's strong and hard to deal with for center-backs. I like the work he's putting in.”
Team of the Matchday (Matchday 2)
F: Dejan Joveljić (SKC), João Klauss (LA), Lionel Messi (MIA)
M: Telasco Segovia (MIA), Mark Delgado (LAFC), Thomas Müller (VAN), Anders Dreyer (SD)
D: Osaze Urhoghide (DAL), Lucas Herrington (COL), Tayvon Gray (NYC)
GK: Rafael Cabral (RSL)
Coach: Javier Mascherano (MIA)
Bench: Drake Callender (MIN), Justin Che (RBNY), Adri Mehmeti (RBNY), Zavier Gozo (RSL), Jamar Ricketts (SJ), Mateo Silvetti (MIA), Kelvin Yeboah (MIN), Christian Ramírez (ATX), Marcus Ingvartsen (SD)
