CARSON, Calif. — Javier “Chicharito” Hernández had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan dos Santos scored in the 79th minute to give the LA Galaxy a 2-1 lead over rival Los Angeles FC on Saturday night.
After a giveaway by LAFC deep in their own end, Hernández won possession in the left side of the box and fended off two defenders. He then found dos Santos on a crossing pass as the midfielder was able to put it past Pablo Sisniega and into the near post for his first goal of the season.
Diego Rossi evened it at 1 for LAFC in the 62nd minute with his first goal. Rossi got a pass from Corey Baird deep in the box and put it into the center of the goal. Rossi has six goals and five assists in the four years of the El Tráfico rivalry.
Chicharito scored his MLS-leading sixth goal of the season in the 11th minute with a shot into the far post. The score was set up after a great tackle by Derrick Williams.
Many were expecting it to be the first meeting since 2013 between close friends Chicharito and LAFC’s Carlos Vela, but Vela was out for a third straight game with a quadriceps injury.
The Galaxy improved to 3-1 and are tied with San Jose atop the Western Conference with nine points. The Galaxy have won five of the 11 meetings with LAFC with three ties.
LAFC (1-2-1) had a 60%-40% advantage in possession and outshot the Galaxy 17-11. Bond made four saves for the Galaxy and Sisniega stopped one shot.
UP NEXT
LAFC: Travel to Seattle on May 16.
Galaxy: Host expansion Austin FC next Saturday.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
