CARSON, Calif. -- The LA Galaxy have not been playing up to par the past month, but they knew what they were capable of and all but promised a return to their devastating summer form when they got home in their Western Conference Semifinals series with Real Salt Lake.
They were true to their word.
The Galaxy gave one of their finest performances in a season that's seen a whole lot of them from LA, romping to a 5-0 win in the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T, on Sunday at StubHub Center to reach the Western Conference Championship for the fifth time in six years.
Landon Donovan got most of the attention, with a hat trick capping a stupendous showing, but nearly everyone seemed atop their game, especially Robbie Keane (a goal and three assists despite the effects of a sore back and hamstring that had him feeling “awful … until the game started moving”), Stefan Ishizaki, Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas, and the entire back line, which was exceptional in denying space to Real Salt Lake and limiting them to just one shot on frame.
“It's been a while since we played well as a unit: about four or five games since we went on a tear like this,” center back Omar Gonzalez said. “I think it was only a matter of time until we played the way we know we can and we get a scoreline the way it was tonight. We were firing on all cylinders like we've seen before a few times this year.”
The Galaxy were as energetic as they have been this year, a step or two better everywhere on the field, and they created more than a dozen good scoring opportunities by clamping down when RSL took possession, neutralizing Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman in midfield and forcing the visitors into a defensive posture that was never good enough.
“They're a team that's very good when they have the ball, and when they don't have the ball, they struggle because they have a lot of guys who don't really want to defend, through the midfield and up front,” Donovan said. “We did a really good job of making them try to defend, and when you have [Álvaro] Saborío having to chase back in his own end to defend guys and not [be able to play] in front of your goal, that makes a big difference.
“We're one of the few teams that can flip the table on them. Most times, they go into games, and they dominate, possession-wise. We're one of the teams that can change that, so that was part of it, but at the end of the day, you've got to take your chances, and we took our chances tonight.”
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It felt like a reawakening after a four-game winless streak in which LA did not play poorly but lacked the spark that drove them to such glorious soccer so many times in the previous three months. The Galaxy netted at least three goals for the 10th time and scored four for the sixth in their last 21 games.
“When we're playing well, we create a lot of chances like that, and it's fun,” Donovan said. “This team is fun to play on. When people are playing that way and things are clicking, you don't want the game to end.”
The performance served as message of sorts to what remains of the playoff field, including the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas, who meet Monday night (10:30 pm ET; NBCSN, UDN in US, TSN2/RDS2 in Canada), with the winner facing the Galaxy for a spot in the Dec. 7 MLS Cup final.
“We have [MLS Cup] to play for, [and] we're going to play well now,” Donovan said. “Are we always going to score five goals? No. Against a team like [RSL]? No. But to be honest, we could have scored eight or nine tonight.”
