A rampant D.C. United powered their way to a 4-1 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy in a clash of titans at steamy RFK Stadium on Sunday. The Black-and Red won their fourth straight match with style to spare, inspired by a brace from Luciano Emilio and a silky-smooth display from Marcelo Gallardo, who outshone his fellow designated player David Beckham before a lively crowd of 35,979 in the nation's capital.
A Jaime Moreno penalty kick put United on their way very early on, and while Edson Buddle's 10th goal of the season pulled the Galaxy level midway through the first half, Emilio scored on either side of halftime, wrapped around a Gallardo strike.
Galaxy boss Ruud Gullit ran out the same lineup used in last week's 3-3 tie with Columbus, while D.C. coach Tom Soehn kept faith with his standard first XI, bringing Santino Quaranta back into midfield after his one-game suspension.
Both sides are known for their attacking mindset and the game quickly pulsated with life as the old rivals hunted for first blood.
Barely five minutes into the game, Ante Jazic handed United a priceless early break when he clumsily bundled over Quaranta as the D.C. winger set himself to shoot just inside the Galaxy 18-yard box, drawing an instant penalty kick call from referee Jair Marrufo.
As usual, Moreno stepped up to the spot kick, and reminded Galaxy 'keeper Steve Cronin why he's one of the most dependable penalty takers in the world. The league's all-time leading scorer sent Cronin the wrong way with a coolly-dispatched shot into the right side of the twine to give D.C. an early lead.
A stout dispossession from Clyde Simms near midfield allowed D.C.'s holding midfielder to feed Gallardo near midfield in the 10th minute, and the Argentinean lofted a smart through ball into the path of Emilio's slashing run towards goal. But with only Cronin to beat, the Brazilian wasted the chance, firing his shot into the Galaxy netminder's legs from 15 yards out.
Shortly thereafter the RFK crowd roared as Emilio looked to have doubled his side's advantage with a chip past Cronin, but D.C.'s leading scorer had accelerated on to Fred's through ball a step too soon and was flagged offside.
The match's most decorated campaigners clashed in United territory in the 15th minute as Moreno showed a bit of steel on Beckham, hacking down the Englishman -- and provoking an angry reaction as well. But L.A. was unable to take full advantage of the ensuing free kick as Donovan strayed offside at the far post.
Looking to snuff out their opposing frontrunners, both teams' center backs were stepping forward aggressively on entry passes to the forwards' feet and mindful of his role as L.A.'s catalyst, Donovan responded by dropping deeper in search of the ball, a move that soon created more chances for his side.
After another offside call brought controversy -- and a disallowed goal through Donovan -- but but L.A. soon found the goal they'd been hunting for, even though it arrived in much uglier packaging than Donovan's finish.
Their No. 10 did begin the play, though, dribbling towards the United box before trying to slot a stabbed ball into Edson Buddle's path. Gonzalo Peralta was well-positioned to cut out the pass, but the ball dribbled underneath him. Alertly following the play, Buddle took advantage of a momentary hesitation in the D.C. defense, outmuscling Bryan Namoff and lifting a quick shot into the net an instant before Wells arrived, drawing the visitors level.
Donovan threatened again as he met a bouncing ball over the top, but just when he seemed certain to score over Wells, who had advanced well off his line, the D.C. netminder leaped high to make an acrobatic block that drew a cheer from the fans.
A brief lag in play after the equalizer proved to be the perfect foil for Emilio's predatory instincts, however, as the prolific Brazilian caught the Galaxy back line napping, popping up in the box to restore D.C.'s lead some eight minutes from halftime.
Marc Burch had come on for a hamstrung Quaranta in an early United substitution, and the former Galaxy reserve's deployment on the left wing soon stretched the visitors. When Burch latched on to an overhit pass near the L.A. endline and curled a teasing cross to the far post, Emilio looked to have made his run too soon -- only to stop, spring backwards and meet the delivery with a looping header that left Cronin helpless as it drifted into the net just inside the left post.
A clash of No. 10s in front of the team benches drew blood and bad tempers in the 41st minute, as Donovan draped himself all over Gallardo's back as the D.C. playmaker held possession. Donovan's pushing and grabbing was met with a backwards elbow from Gallardo, sending his tormentor to the turf with a bloody nose.
Marrufo soon reached the scene and after some conferral with the nearby fouth official, produced yellow cards for both men, to the wounded Donovan's great irritation.
After an eventful first half, both sides looked to hold possession and build play more gradually in the second period with legs tiring under the draining conditions. D.C. had the better of the early going: Fred broke clear on Cronin, only to be denied by a sharp save, and Gallardo spurned two clear opportunities with off-target shots.
But United's midfield maestro took his next chance with aplomb, pushing the lead to two goals after smartly following the ball into the box as Emilio tried to turn on two defenders at the hour mark. Though his Brazilian teammate was well-defended, the ball took a quirky deflection into space and Gallardo was the quickest of the bunch, zipping forward to dink a savvy finish into the left side of the net to run the score to 3-1.
Although United began to control possession and string passes together as the match wore on, Donovan tried to inspire a response and looked sure to score after maneuvering past Devon McTavish deep inside the United box, but Wells bravely threw himself in front of the L.A. striker's shot, deflecting it high over the bar.
As the Galaxy pressed forward in search of a comeback, their defense was caught out repeatedly as the Black-and-Red counterattacked eagerly with Gallardo pulling the strings. He crafted his team's fourth on just such an occasion, slipping an angled pass behind the defense for Fred to charge onto -- and the crafty Brazilian waited for the exposed Cronin to commit before squaring to Emilio for a simple finish from point-blank range.
The goal ran Emilio's scoring streak to six consecutive matches and sparked delirium among the United supporters' groups -- who were given yet another treat when Ben Olsen came off the bench to make his first appearance of the season some 15 minutes from full time.
The veteran has been stricken for months by a mystifying ankle anjury which has threatened his career with its refusal to heal, and his inclusion on the match's substitutes list seemed like just a way to ensure his presence with the team on this special occasion.
But when Olsen jumped out of his seat and walked over to the fourth official at midfield, the RFK faithful roared in surprise as their longtime hero came on in place of Moreno, who handed him the captain's armband as he returned to his right midfield spot in an undeniably emotional moment.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
