After five weeks on the sideline recovering from knee surgery, Robbie Keane returned to the lineup.
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Two goals in four minutes, the first from Kelyn Rowe, then one more by Juan Agudelo, put the Galaxy in danger of squandering a once-insurmountable lead.
The win means Los Angeles move to second in the Western Conference, two points behind leaders Colorado Rapids, while New England move down to eighth in the East.
The ruthless Galaxy attack added a third right before halftime: On the counter-attack, dos Santos received the ball with time and space and patiently waited before finding Zardes to the left, and in a reverse sequence on the first goal, Zardes squaring a low cross to Keane for a tap-in at the right post.
As the home crowd hailed their returning hero, Keane opted to mind himself in the course of celebrating by shunning his usual cart-wheel celebration for a simple bow.
New England stormed back late, but Steven Gerrard’s late goal sealed LA Galaxy’s record 300th MLS win.
United (2-4-4, 10pts) was shut out for the fourth time this season as NYCFC (3-3-4, 13pts) preserved just its second clean sheet of the campaign to claim the clubs first victory at RFK Stadium in its second attempt.
Right before the half, it was again the combination of Zardes and Keane as the LA Galaxy took a commanding 3-0 lead when Zardes patiently waited on the left side of the net for Keane to come open for the easy tap-in goal.
“(Keane), Gio and Gyasi did a real good job, they were unsafe”, Arena said. Giovani dos Santos was there and ready, and Watson was slow to react as dos Santos blasted a shot into the goal.
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24′ – Dos Santos smashes a volley from 22 yards out – “Why did they give Dos Santos almost $6 million per year”, they asked. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.
