Takeaways: LA Galaxy fall 3-2 to FC Cincinnati, eliminated from playoff contention
There reigning MLS Cup champions fall out of the playoff and taste defeat at home to Cincinnati
In a match that saw the Galaxy mathematically eliminated from playoff contention before it even began, LA fought hard to the end in a loss against a Supporters’ Shield contender in FC Cincinnati.
Cincy would jump out to an early lead, pouncing on a Diego Fagundez turnover that led to Ender Echenique getting in behind John Nelson for the score.
The visitors wouldn’t wait long to double their lead. Cincinnati’s Evander would pick up his second assist on the night with a through ball in for Brenner that Novak Mićović couldn’t get enough of.
Joseph Paintsil would get LA back into the match in the 39th minute thanks to a perfect cross from Diego Fagundez into the box that the Ghanaian would finish off with a header.
Brenner would see out this game for Cincy in the 88th minute with his second goal of the night. He slid right past the poor mark of Chris Rindov off Evander’s third assist of this match.
Mauricio Cuevas would get one back for consolation in the 91st, a rocket strike off a Paintsil assist to give LA a lifeline. The comeback would end there, as Cincy held on for all three points.
Speed Kills
The LA Galaxy’s striker situation was a key reason for the horrible 2025 campaign. This time, it was Paintsil who was given the role to play as a striker, and he found ways to add pressure on Cincy’s backline.
Paintsil and Harbor Miller spent the start of the game interchanging at playing that position but neither was truly effective. Both are wingers and don’t have the traits to play like a traditional striker or be an aerial threat consistently. But Paintsil found a way to slip in between the center backs and finish with a quality header.
Aside from Paintsil’s goal, the Galaxy was lacking that target player in the box. Someone who could ruffle some feathers between the center backs and put their body on the line for crosses into the box. LA played multiple balls into the box in the first half, but nobody was there to contest them.
Despite that, Paintsil’s pace was a real problem for the Cincinnati backline, with so many runs in behind and him forcing defenders to chase him down on the night. It was the main threat the Galaxy could add on the night, and a key reason why the Galaxy added danger despite playing a man down.
“We felt like they would try to over-press us and try to leave [Paintsil] one-on-one at the top. We felt like, 'good luck with that.' And he was in. He was in quite a bit. He was in some good positions,” said Vanney postgame.
Cincinnati struggled to contain his speed and began to get very physical with him. It included a moment in the 55th minute where he got past Nick Hagglund, and there was contact as Paintsil was heading past him and into a one-on-one scenario with the goalkeeper.
“I don't know the plans of the referees, but whenever they are coming to a game there is always a player that they always single out. I don't know if it's me or the other players, but unfortunately you cannot just tell me this is not a red card and you cannot go and see,” said Paintsil about that situation in the game.
“I really respect that ref a lot, but today he showed me the kind of referee he is, especially with these opponents also. He made the game really difficult for us. I think when he goes home and just watches the game, I think he's going to be really disappointed with the decision that he makes,” he added.
A good night for Paintsil, who finished the night with a goal and an assist. He has his eyes set on the Campeones Cup match and staying on the radar of the Ghanaian National Team as the World Cup approaches.
Closer to 80/80
Fagundez is getting closer to reaching a new milestone following his assist to Paintsil. The 30-year-old midfielder has 77 goals and 78 assists in his MLS career.
He’s played in multiple different positions this season, whether that is on the wing or playing in the midfield trenches. Despite being moved around and given different roles, he’s finding ways to impact the game. He was pressured and lost the ball in his own half, which led to Cincy’s opening goal but he worked his hardest to make up for that mistake.
Fagundez registered six chances created, an assist, 91% pass accuracy and led the team with seven passes into the final third.
“Diego is someone that also has the eye to give those kind of balls. Kudos to Diego for giving me the assist. As you can see, he's also someone who's really important in the club. I really respect him a lot. I think he's someone who also decide things for us,” said Paintsil about Fagundez.
“He's also doing whatever he needs to do, working hard to try to find the results for us. So we just, you know, have to do what we have to do. Big respect to Diego for his great performance today, and I know we going to do more. I just think Diego is a fantastic player and we just need to give him more balls to make those decisions for us,” he added.
Fagundez is closer to reaching that career milestone and there is a slim chance of reaching the 80/80 club with four games left to go in the season if he continues this form.
Mixed Bag from Mićović
Novak Mićović had a night of highs and lows in tonight’s defeat. The Serbian goalkeeper was often tested, making several crucial saves that kept the Galaxy within striking distance, but he also struggled in key moments, leaving room for criticism.
Early in the match, Mićović showcased his range with a strong stop after Maya Yoshida failed to reach his man. But just four minutes later, Cincinnati struck through the middle. Mićović got a hand on the shot, yet hesitation at his near post allowed the scorer to slip the ball by. A similar breakdown would follow in the 22nd minute, when the Galaxy were exposed in transition and Brenner converted through traffic.
Still, Mićović kept LA alive on multiple occasions. In the second half, he produced a diving save down the middle and later blocked a bouncing shot late in the game, pushing it out for corners. His seven saves on the night were a reminder of his shot-stopping abilities, even if the overall performance earned a 6.0 rating and a negative goals-prevented metric (-0.52).
Greg Vanney acknowledged both sides of Mićović’s performance. He praised his ability to grow into games and make big saves when needed, but noted struggles with kicking and consistency: I think he needs to start strong and finish the whole game. Maybe that's part of the maturity for him. If we get behind, he makes big saves. We also need to do that when we are even or up or those things. Those become big moments for goalkeepers.
The keeper’s distribution was another point of concern. Vanney said, “Some of his kicking through the course of the game wasn't where we talked about trying to find. We were hitting balls all over the shop. He's better than that with his feet. So I think him being more targeted about where we were trying to play the longer balls would've been part of it.” Passing and long-ball accuracy reflected that, with only 46% of passes completed and zero successful long balls.
Earlier this week, Vanney emphasized Mićović’s overall growth this season. “He is the guy who makes decisions. He's the guy that makes sure that everybody's locked in on set pieces, that he's really leading and commanding anything that's in this defensive final quarter of the field and in the box, he's commanding everything. And so eventually you have to strip the young goalkeeper tag, and you've got to be into like, Okay, this guy is leading the group and commanding the way he needs to.”
Mićović’s night reflected this trajectory: moments of brilliance tempered by key lapses, but a clear path of development that could define the final stretch of the season.