LA Galaxy Hit a New Low in 3-1 Loss to Sporting Kansas City
Greg Vanney said the LA Galaxy didn't get out of their hotel rooms. The performance proved him right.
The LA Galaxy hit a new low in 2026 with a 3-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night. It was a flat that Greg Vanney reached for quite the metaphor to describe it.
“I felt like we didn’t even get out of our hotel rooms,” said the Galaxy head coach. “We just didn’t come and meet the intensity level of the game.”
It was that kind of night at Children’s Mercy Park. SKC, winless at home all season heading into the match, barely had to elevate their game to dismantle a Galaxy side that looked disorganized and slow during this midweek match.
All three SKC goals came from LA’s inability to protect the ball in dangerous areas and their failure to recover defensively when possession was lost.
The opening goal started with Edwin Cerrillo losing the ball in midfield, and SKC broke immediately, with Calvin Harris finding space between the lines before his cutback found Capita at the far post to finish. The second came just before halftime as Dejan Joveljic, the former Galaxy striker, capitalized on a one-on-one opportunity against J.T. Marcinkowski with a composed chipped finish. It was the third time Joveljic has scored against his former club in four appearances.
Harris completed his dominant evening in the second half, finishing after a darting run into the box to make it three. It was the first time SKC had scored three goals in a single game all season. Both of their wins this season have now come against the Galaxy.
Gabriel Pec’s consolation in the 88th minute kept LA’s scoring streak alive but changed nothing about the final picture.
Vanney was direct in his assessment of where the game was lost. “They set up to play against our mistakes. We made plenty of them in the build. All three of their goals come off losses of possession that turn into transition attacks,” he said.
“I thought we were sloppy with the ball. I thought we were low on the intensity level. We just weren’t moving as fast as they were… we were behind the speed of it for most of the game.”
The first goal shone a spotlight on Edwin Cerrillo, whose loss of possession directly led to SKC’s opener. It was not an isolated moment. The 25-year-old has been inconsistent with the ball throughout the season, and Vanney acknowledged as much when asked about it.
“I think it’s been hit and miss, to be honest,” said Vanney about Cerrillo’s form. “In terms of presence and ball recovery and some of the things getting us out of situations going forward, it’s been up and down. Not consistent enough.”
It’s a significant admission about a player the Galaxy relies on heavily in the center of the park. LA’s system depends on midfield control and ball retention to keep opponents organized and create the patterns of play. When the midfield leaks possession in dangerous areas, the entire structure unravels as Wednesday night demonstrated.
There was a subplot to the evening that deserved more than the result allowed. Erik Thommy was making his return to Kansas City, the club he called home for the past four seasons, and brought with him the kind of familiarity and respect that comes with genuine history at a place.
The German midfielder didn’t let sentiment cloud his reading of the performance. His verdict was blunt.
“It wasn’t our best game. 80 to 90 percent is not enough. We need to be at 100 to compete and to win games,” said Thommy.
It echoed Vanney’s message of not bringing intensity to the game. There is little to no
There is no time to dwell on the result for the G’s. The Galaxy travel to Seattle on Saturday to face a Sounders side sitting third in the Western Conference following a win over San Jose. It is exactly the kind of hostile road environment that exposes teams low on confidence and cohesion.
Thommy made clear what the standard needs to be. “Energy-wise, commitment-wise, we need to be much better than today in Seattle, because Seattle is going to be a really, really tough away game for us.”
The Galaxy showed they can raise their level when they want to. Wednesday night proved they still haven’t found a way to do it consistently like the elite teams in MLS.