Dejan Joveljic scores twice and Galaxy wins against LAFC

Dejan Joveljic scored his 13th and 14th goals – and his first in MLS in over two months – and the LA Galaxy overcame a two-goal deficit to win 4-2 against visiting LAFC on Saturday night.

Ricard Puig provided two assists for a total of 15 goals, then added his eleventh goal to help Galaxy end their three-game losing streak in league play against their city rivals.

Edwin Cerrillo scored his first MLS goal, with a brilliant shot from about 20 yards out that tied the game between Joveljic's strikes.

By catching up with four goals in the second half, Galaxy (16-6-7, 55 points) was able to extend its lead over second-place LAFC (14-7-6, 48 points) in the Western Conference race.

Denis Bouanga scored his 17th goal and Mateusz Bogusz his 14th, giving LAFC a two-goal lead by the 15th minute.

But after dominating the game before halftime, LAFC struggled to keep up afterward and was reduced to ten men in the 79th minute when referee Ted Unkel sent off Lewis O'Brien for an exposed studs foul.

By the 10th minute of the second half, the Black and Gold team's halftime lead had completely disappeared.

First, Joveljic scored his first goal in the 53rd minute with a clever shot from the right side of the box. It was the Sebrian striker's first goal since late June after struggling with a thigh injury for most of the summer.

Then came Cerrillo's long-range shot, set up by Puig's pass from the right, a perfect curling shot that beat Hugo Lloris and found the top left corner.

For his second goal, Joveljic was in the right place at the right time and redirected a seemingly unfortunate shot from Puig into the bottom right corner from close range after a successful counterattack down the right.

On his next chance in the 86th minute, Puig was much more determined and curled the ball into the bottom right corner from about 13 meters.

–Field level media