LOS ANGELES (October 11, 2026) – The LA Galaxy (9-11-9, 36 points) fell 6-2 to Western Conference side St. Louis CITY SC (14-6-8, 50 points) at Energizer Park in Missouri. Robert Taylor cut into an early three-goal deficit for the Galaxy at the half-hour mark, but it was not enough for a result away from home. João Klauss entered the match in the 11th minute to a standing ovation as he made his official return St. Louis for the first time since joining the Galaxy this past offseason and scored his eighth goal of the campaign in the second half.
Goalscoring Plays
STL – Carlo Holse (Rafael Navarro), 2nd minute: Navarro picked up possession deep in the Galaxy half and drove into the box down the left side, where he squared a pass to Holse for the opening goal and a 1-0 advantage for the hosts.
STL – Carlo Holse (Rafael Navarro), 7th minute:Navarro slipped a pass behind the Galaxy backline for Holse, who finished the chance to double St. Louis' lead.
STL – Carlo Holse (Chris Durkin), 21st minute: Durkin clipped a long ball over the Galaxy backline that Holse chested down and finished to give St. Louis a 3-0 lead.
LA – Robert Taylor (Erik Thommy, Troy Elgersma), 31st minute: Elgersma played a deft pass to Thommy, who found Taylor on the wing. The Finnish forward cut inside and curled a shot into the top corner from just outside the box to get the Galaxy on the board.
STL – Rafael Navarro (Penalty), 45th minute: Following a penalty awarded to St. Louis, Navarro sent his attempt into the bottom-left corner to put the hosts ahead 4-1.
STL – Lukas MacNaughton (Alexandru Mățan) 45+7th minute: Mățan curled a set-piece delivery into the box from the right flank that found MacNaughton, who headed the ball into the top-right corner.
STL – Rafael Navarro (Chris Dirkin, Tomas Totland) 53rd minute: Dirkin picked out Navarro in the penalty area, and the forward finished into the bottom-right corner to extend the hosts' lead.
LA – João Klauss (Marco Reus, Erik Thommy) 71st minute: Thommy played Reus down the right side, and the German delivered a chipped cross to a charging Klauss, who headed the ball into the back of the net for the Galaxy's second goal of the evening.
Postgame Notes
- João Klauss registered his eighth league goal in just his 12th regular season appearance for the Galaxy, and his third in as many games. Notably, the Brazilian striker has connected with Marco Reus on four of his eight goals, including his 71st minute score tonight.
- Robert Taylor’s goal in the 31st minute tonight marked his third consecutive match with a goal contribution for the Galaxy, tallying an assist in each of LA’s previous two matches against Minnesota and Colorado.
- LA Galaxy midfielder Troy Elgersma earned his first career MLS Regular Season start and added his first career assist tonight against the same opponent in which he scored the first goal of his MLS career back on July 22.
- LA Galaxy forward and Designated Player Joseph Paintsil made his official return to the pitch tonight as a second-half substitute after missing the previous four league matches due to a thigh injury.
- Forward Kyōgo Furuhashi exited the match in the 11th minute with an injury.
Next Up
The LA Galaxy quickly turn the page with a return home to Los Angeles for a crucial two-match week beginning with a midweek contest against Portland Timbers FC in an MLS Regular Season contest at Dignity Health Sports Park on Wednesday, October 14 (7:30 p.m. PT, Apple TV). Then on the weekend, the Galaxy host San Diego FC on Saturday, October 17 (7:30 p.m. PT, Apple TV).
Match Information
Match: LA Galaxy at St. Louis CITY SC
Date: October 11, 2026
Venue: Energizer Park; St. Louis, Missouri
Weather: Sunny and 79°F
Scoring Summary
|
1
|
2
|
F
|
LA Galaxy
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
St. Louis CITY SC
|
5
|
1
|
6
|
STL – Carlo Holse (Rafael Navarro), 2’
STL – Carlo Holse (Rafael Navarro, Dante Polvara), 7’
STL – Carlo Holse (Chris Durkin, Dante Polvara), 21’
LA – Robert Taylor (Erik Thommy, Troy Elgersma), 31’
STL – Rafael Navarro (PK), 45’
STL – Lukas MacNaughton (Alexandru Mățan), 45+7’
STL – Rafael Navarro (Chris Dirkin, Tomas Totland), 53’
LA – João Klauss (Marco Reus, Erik Thommy), 71’
Lineups
LA Galaxy: GK JT Marcinkowski; D Harbor Miller, D Jakob Glesnes, D Justin Haak, D Julián Aude; M Pablo Ruiz (Marco Reus, 60’), M Sergi Roberto (Lucas Sanabria, 46’), M Erik Thommy (Emiro Garcés, 75’); F Troy Elgersma, F Robert Taylor (Joseph Paintsil, 60’), F Kyōgo Furuhashi (João Klauss, 11’)
Substitutes not used: Novak Mićović, Maya Yoshida, John Nelson, Lucas Calegari
St. Louis CITY SC: GK Roman Burki; D Lukas MacNaughton, D Dante Polvara, D Timo Baumgartl; M Chris Durkin (Fallou Fall, 72’), M Daniel Edelman, M Tomas Totland, M Conrad Wallem (Jaziel Orozco, 80’), F Carlo Holse (Sang-bin Jeong, 80’), F Rafael Navarro (Simon Becher, 80’), F Alexandru Mățan (Damion Downs, 90+1’)
Substitutes not used: Tomas Ostrak, Rafael Santos, Miguel Perez, Ben Lundt
Stats Summary
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STL
|
LA
|
Shots
|
12
|
17
|
Shots on Goal
|
7
|
7
|
Saves
|
5
|
1
|
Corner Kicks
|
2
|
3
|
Fouls
|
17
|
10
|
Offsides
|
3
|
1
|
Possession
|
58.5%
|
41.5%
|
Misconduct Summary
STL: Chris Durkin (caution) 39’
STL: Conrad Wallem (caution) 63’
LA: Julián Aude (caution) 67’
LA: Harbor Miller (caution) 74’
Officials
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt, Adam Garner
Fourth Official: Jon Freemon
VAR: Michael Radchuk, Tom Felice
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
LA Galaxy Postgame Top Quotes
LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney
On tonight’s result and the decision to rotate the lineup:
"I would say we prioritized the home games, because we have three games in six days, the first one being away against a team that isn’t directly involved with us in the battle. It doesn’t mean the points weren’t important, but I felt like we had to calculate something over the course of this week with travel early in the week and two home games. And we’ve got a number of guys who have been managing situations over the course of the season, so we had to choose. We chose. It didn’t mean we had to get down three goals at the beginning of the game. All three of the first three goals were defendable situations. The first obviously we go down very easy, we don’t get the call, it becomes a problem. The second one we force a long ball deep and we have the numbers to deal with the situation, and we just let the ball bounce in between us and we don’t clean it up. The third goal was a situation where we didn’t have enough numbers behind the ball. At 3-1, we had a stretch where we looked like maybe we were becoming a little more stable and were maybe going to build out of it and then we give up a fourth goal that makes it difficult. At that point, I wanted to get Serge [Roberto] off the field, started to think about managing big picture even more. I did want to get Joe [Paintsil] and Marco [Reus] out to move around tonight as just an exercise in preparation for the week and unfortunately, João [Klauss] went longer than we were hoping because Kyōgo [Furuhashi] picked up an injury five minutes into the game. Certainly didn’t go to plan. We wanted to stay in the game longer, give ourselves a chance in the second half, but we were behind it very quickly and that became an emotion we were playing with for a lot of the night. Having said that, they had six shots on goal and six goals and while they were pulling us apart, they didn’t put a ton of chances on goal. Not saying we deserved more, but we put ourselves in a hole that was difficult to get out of.”
On turning the page ahead of Wednesday:
"I feel like [this game] lights a fire under some people and under the group. That was the emotion that I went into in the locker room. There was certainly anger and disappointment, but I also felt a recognition that there’s a big week still ahead of us. Those games are going to be at home, and they are what our focus is on. I feel like there will be a good bounce back. It’s important that everybody bounces back, I just have to keep an eye on maybe a couple of guys, but in general I think the group is going to be resilient and excited to be back at home in front of the crowd and recognizes that we actually didn’t really lose any ground tonight in the grand scheme of things because of other results. We didn’t make up ground to the teams in front of us, and we didn’t separate ourselves from the teams behind us. Yesterday there were just so many draws, Seattle was the one team that was able to pick up a win, but tonight we looked at it like this was an opportunity to create separation and to stay on track with the team ahead of us so let’s take advantage of this opportunity, but we didn’t. In not doing so, we didn’t lose a lot of ground on what’s behind us, but we know the importance of what’s in front of us now games wise.”
LA Galaxy Forward João Klauss
On recapturing the team’s momentum ahead of Wednesday:
"I think we have a lot of players with a lot of experience in this team. This game is already behind us, we can’t change what happened today. It’s a very important week for us. We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to take responsibility and accountability for what happened today, and then tomorrow we move forward. Wednesday we have a very important game at home in front of our fans and we have to get the three points, and then Saturday again. Soccer sometimes, it’s tough. I understand everybody is frustrated right now, everybody is mad. But on Wednesday, we have another chance to do things different. We have to show a different mentality. We have to show why we are here in Galaxy, the biggest club in MLS, and why we deserve to be here. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense to be here. The Galaxy should fight to win the league every single season. We have to give a good response on Wednesday and get the three points.”
On his reception from St. Louis fans:
“Very nice. It was three years that I was here. I had a great relationship with their fans, similar to the relationship I have with Galaxy fans. I always respect them a lot. I always gave my 100 percent on the field and when people see that you give your best, whether in good moments or bad moments, they are going to respect you. It was beautiful to be back here. I really appreciate all of the love that they gave me today. Even when I stepped in to warmups and then when I came into the game in five minutes, the whole stadium was cheering for me. After the goal as well, they were celebrating the goal. So I really appreciate them, a lot of love for them. Good luck to them, they are doing amazing, they are playing a great season, and I wish them all the best.”
On the team’s mindset following the match:
“After the game everybody is frustrated, but one we thing we talked about in the locker room is staying together. We don’t point fingers, we don’t blame each other, and we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. Wednesday we have another game, another chance. We have to be ready and have to be with the right mentality. Our heads have to be in the right place. We have to forget this game, I know it’s difficult, but it’s in the past. Wednesday, we have to be ready. We have to give our 100% every single day. That’s the only way for us to make it. I don’t care if I feel pain, I don’t care if my foot is feeling good or not feeling good, if I’ve recovered well or not recovered well, our mentality has to be the best mentality possible. As I say, Wednesday, we have to win. We can’t have any other result.”
