LAFC routs rival Galaxy, Portland beats Houston at MLS tournament

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Diego Rossi had the first four-goal game of the MLS is Back tournament and Los Angeles Football Club defeated rival LA Galaxy 6-2 on Saturday night in a Group F matchup.

Bradley Wright-Phillips and Mohamed El-Munir also scored for LAFC, who got their first win in six regular-season matchups against the Galaxy. LAFC had their first win over their rivals in last season's Western Conference semifinal.

The seventh edition of El Trafico was played more than 2,500 miles away from Los Angeles and without the crazy legions of fans from both teams due to the coronavirus pandemic.

LAFC has likely advanced to the knockout stage in the World Cup-style tournament, It is second in Group F with four points and has a plus-four goals differential. It will face Portland on Thursday and can clinch the top spot in the group with a win.

The Galaxy, who were missing star forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez due to a calf injury, have likely been eliminated from advancing after losing their first two games and with a minus-five goals differential.

The Galaxy's goals came on an own goal by LAFC's Latif Blessing and a penalty kick by Cristian Pavon.

The game was tied at two at halftime before LAFC put it away. Wright-Phillips scored the go-ahead goal in the 56th minute with a blast from near the top of the box. Wright-Phillips, who has two goals in the tournament, got a half yard of separation and was able to bend it past Galaxy defender Giancarlo Gonzalez and goalkeeper David Bingham.

Rossi made it a two-goal advantage in the 76th minute on a breakway and El-Munir added to the deficit with a shot from just outside the box 5 minutes later.

Rossi completed the scoring in the last minute of stoppage time with a wide-open net after a crossing pass by Francisco Ginella.

The Galaxy took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute after Sebastian Lletget's crossing pass went off Blessing's leg for an own goal. It is the third own goal of the tournament.

The teams then traded goals on penalty kicks. Rossi evened it at one 8 minutes later when LAFC received a penalty kick after Wright-Phillips was held by Galaxy midfielder Perry Kitchen and went to the ground in the box during a corner kick.

The Galaxy regained the lead in the 31st minute when Pavon beat LAFC goalie Pablo Sisniega on the left side on the retake of a penalty kick. Pavon was stopped on his first attempt, but the referee ruled that Sisniega came off his line early.

LA was awarded the penalty after LAFC's Dejan Jakovic made a high tackle on Joe Corona.

LAFC was able to even it going into halftime when Rossi drove in a rebound after Bingham was unable to make the save on Wright-Phillips’ shot.

Jeremy Ebobisse and Diego Valeri scored and the Portland Timbers clinched a spot in the knockout round of the MLS is Back tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.

With a pair of wins to open the World Cup-style tournament, the Timbers have secured one of the top two spots in Group F going into Thursday’s match against LAFC.

"It feels good to win. Our first goal was to reach the knockout stage," Portland coach Giovanni Savarese said. "At the beginning, we were too conservative and made sure we had enough numbers to cover but once we had players going forward we were able to take more chances. We were able to control the match the majority of the time."

Alberth Ellis scored on a penalty kick for the Dynamo, who have one point through two matches. They would need a win over the LA Galaxy on Thursday to have any hope of advancing.

"We are in a group with three difficult opponents, so every game is a must win," Houston coach Tab Ramos said. "At the moment, we have one point and still have a chance."

Valeri's score in the 61st minute not only gave the Timbers breathing room, but puts him one goal away from becoming the third player in MLS history to record 80-plus goals and 80-plus assists in their career during the regular season.

Valeri took a crossing pass from Eryk Williamson at the top of the box, shook off pressure from Houston's Aljaz Struna and placed a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. It is the Argentine's third goal of the season.

The Dynamo pulled within a goal in the 86th minute when Elis converted a penalty kick, which was awarded after Portland's Jorge Villafaña was called for a handball in the box. Ellis, who has two goals in the tournament, received his second yellow card of the match two minutes later as Houston played a man down the remainder of the match.

Portland opened the scoring in the 35th minute when Sebastian Blanco split the midfield in transition and lofted a pass to Ebobisse to the left side of the box. The Timbers forward then beat two Houston defenders and fired a left-foot strike that eluded Houston goalkeeper Marko Maric and found the bottom right corner.

It was Ebobisse’s second goal in the tournament and his second in five career matches against Houston.

Houston had a chance to even it three minutes later, but a wide open Elis placed it wide right in the center of the box after getting the feed from Darwin Quintero.

Portland’s Steve Clark made three saves and Maric five. The Timbers had a 7-4 edge in shots on target.