For the third time in a row, a team from Los Angeles took part in the MLS Cup final. After LAFC won the trophy in 2022, they lost the final to the Columbus Crew in 2023.

Saturday’s final was the first appearance for the Galaxy since they beat the New England Revolution 2-1 in overtime in 2014.

Many wondered whether LA Galaxy manager Greg Vanney would abandon his aggressive offensive style of play, which puts enormous pressure on the opposing team’s defense, if Puig was not on the field. But he didn’t compromise on his 4-3-3 attacking formation that took the Galaxy to the game’s biggest stage.

All season long, the Galaxy dominated possession, tricked opposing defenders into dribblers and passed the ball with ease while attacking the net in an offensive attack that gave them a conference-high 69 goals this year.

Against the team that had won three straight away games in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, all of which were clean sheets, the Galaxy scored two more goals, extending their record for a playoff run to 18 total.

They outscored the Red Bulls 13-11 and had more shots on goal 7-5.

At halftime, the players in the Galaxy locker room remained mostly quiet. Unlike last week, when they entered halftime in the Western Conference finals with a scoreless draw against the Seattle Sounders, they remained confident that if they stayed the course for just another 45 minutes they would be crowned champions.

They made no substitutions at halftime.

Trailing by one goal, New York acted much more aggressively in the second half. The Red Bulls had previously recovered from a one-goal deficit in the playoffs. They trailed Columbus Crew 1-0 in the second half of their second game of the best-of-three first-round series. They scored two goals in 16 minutes in this game to take the lead.

However, in all other games in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Red Bulls scored first and relied on their strong defense to remain stable. This time it was the Galaxy’s experienced and veteran defense that held the lead.

Borussia Dortmund legend Marco Reus came on in the 75th minute and helped the LA Galaxy win another trophy in contrast to their defeat in the Champions League final earlier this year.

There were several tense moments and missed opportunities on offense, but when the final whistle blew the stadium erupted like an explosion ripping through the eardrums.

The victory marked the City of Los Angeles’ second championship over the City of New York in just over a month in the five major men’s professional sports leagues. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in five games on October 30th.

Overall, it is also the sixth championship for Los Angeles since 2020.

As the champagne popped and was sprayed over the Galaxy players, this time they celebrated in the locker room after the game. As the music blared, there was laughter, screams of joy and tears again.

This time, however, they were tears of joy.