In another wild, goal-filled edition of El Trafico, the LA Galaxy salvaged a miracle 3-3 draw against LAFC at Banc of California Stadium on Saturday thanks to a last-gasp equalizer from Kevin Cabral.
LAFC were just minutes from snapping their six-game winless run, paced by a brace from Brian Rodriguez but couldn't manage to see out all three points thanks to Cabral's late heroics. Dejan Joveljic made an emphatic entrance to the rivalry for the Galaxy, tallying a brace of his own for his team's other two goals, while Cristian Arango also found the scoresheet with a first-half penalty kick for LAFC.
After a penalty-kick shout right after kickoff for LAFC went unheeded, the Galaxy would jump on top on 20 minutes through Joveljic's first MLS goal. The newly signed Serbian forward pounced on a loose ball after Jesus David Murillo couldn't clear a Julian Araujo cross, chipping the shot over LAFC goalkeeper Tomas Romero and into the net.
LAFC would strike back just before halftime, this time getting a penalty-kick call from Chapman after Galaxy defender Niko Hamalainen was whistled for tugging down Arango in front of goal as the two jostled for positioning to make a play on a Diego Palacios cross. That gave Arango the look from the spot, which the Colombian smashed off the post and into the goal for the equalizer.
The match really took off in the second half, as the clubs traded three goals in a frantic six-minute span. Rodriguez started it off, finding a phenomenal go-ahead goal for LAFC just before the hour-mark. Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond managed to deny two rocket shots from Rossi, but couldn't stop a vicious close-range strike from the Uruguayan, who cashed it home after making a stellar individual run to evade several Galaxy defenders.
LAFC wouldn't be able to hold the lead, as Joveljic equalized just five minutes later, with a clinical strike to the far post from inside the area that drew the visitors level in short order. But that score line would be short-lived too, as Rodriguez found his brace three minutes later with a rebound finish after Bond made another reaction save on a rocket shot by Palacios.
But the Black-and-Gold couldn't see out the victory, as Cabral pounced on an Araujo cross and cashed home the finish, stunning the home crowd and ensuring another classic contest between the two sides would end on level terms.
Goals
- 20' - LA - Dejan Joveljic
- 44' - LAFC - Cristian Arango (PK)
- 59' - LAFC - Brian Rodriguez
- 64' - LA - Dejan Joveljic
- 66' - LAFC - Brian Rodriguez
- 86' - LA - Kevin Cabral
