CARSON, Calif. – Landon Donovan tied the MLS all-time assist record and hit double-digits in goals for the eighth time as the LA Galaxy put on another clinic Sunday evening, running away to a 4-0 victory over the visiting New York Red Bulls.
Donovan assisted both of Robbie Keane's goals and another by Gyasi Zardes, and added his 10th of the season as LA (16-5-9) kept pace with Seattle atop the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield standings while extending their unbeaten streak to eight games.
Keane scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season and Zardes his 16th, and Jaime Penedo made three big first-half stops to keep LA in charge until they pulled away after the break.
Donovan, who eclipsed his season high for assists with his 17th on Zardes' goal, has 135 in his career, equaling Houston assistant coach Steve Ralston's record set across 14 seasons with the Tampa Bay Mutiny and New England Revolution.
New York (10-9-11), which dropped to fifth in the Eastern Conference with Columbus' win Saturday, is just one point above Columbus and two in front Philadelphia – and only four out of second place – after losing for the first time in nearly a month.
Keane’s opener was special, as he collected the ball from Donovan's feed in the area, cut right to find space against Roy Miller, then chipped the ball gently over goalkeeper Luis Robles and just inside the far-post netting for his 50th regular season goal in MLS.
New York had three terrific first-half chances, but Penedo was up for all of them, coming off his line to snuff Bradley Wright-Phillips shots from through balls by Thierry Henry in the 15th minute and Peguy Luyindula in the 32nd, and making an acrobatic stop on Eric Alexander from Henry's feed in the 41st.
Donovan doubled the Galaxy's advantage just five minutes into the second half after picking Chris Duvall’s pocket and slotting past Robles.
Zardes put the game away in the 69th, finishing off a 16-pass sequence by playing a one-two with Donovan and then finding the back post against a sprawling Robles.
Keane added the fourth 13 minutes later, running onto a Donovan chip, mishitting it past Robles, then recovering and making a quick move past Ibrahim Sekagya before pushing it into the open net.
The Galaxy are home Saturday against Toronto FC before a trip to FC Dallas and a home-and-home series with Seattle to complete the season.
The Red Bulls are home for their next three – Saturday vs. Houston, Oct. 11 vs. Toronto FC and Oct. 19 vs. Columbus – and finish the regular season Oct. 26 at Sporting Kansas City.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
Rank |
Player |
What We Saw |
1 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/landon-donovan" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-size:12px;">Landon Donovan</span></strong></a> |
Murdered Chris Duvall & Richard Eckersley, controlled the game without being ball-dominant, and repeatedly made special plays in the attacking third. |
2 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/robbie-keane" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-size:12px;">Robbie Keane</span></strong></a> |
Scored one beauty and one only a forward could love. Always in the right place, always making sharp attacking moves, and always, always dangerous. |
3 |
<strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/jaime-penedo" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12px;">Jaime Penedo</span></a></strong> |
Did we mention LA also have the league's best defense? Pendedo's a big reason why, and his first half in goal is as good as it comes in any league. |
