{"id":785934,"date":"2026-05-10T06:10:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/785934\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T06:10:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:10:17","slug":"match-report-galaxy-steal-three-points-in-comeback-win-behind-gabriel-pec-brace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/785934\/","title":{"rendered":"Match Report: Galaxy\u00a0Steal\u00a0Three Points in Comeback Win Behind\u00a0Gabriel Pec\u00a0Brace\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>ATLANTA (May 9, 2026) \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0The LA Galaxy (4\u20114\u20114, 16\u00a0points)\u00a0came from behind\u00a0to win\u00a02-1 against\u00a0Eastern Conference side\u00a0Atlanta United FC\u00a0(3-8-1,\u00a010 points) at\u00a0Mercedes-Benz Stadium\u00a0in\u00a0Atlanta,\u00a0Georgia.\u00a0After falling behind 1\u20130 in the second half, the Galaxy rallied to\u00a0victory\u00a0behind a\u00a0late-on\u00a0brace from Brazilian winger Gabriel Pec.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ATL\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Jay Fortune,\u00a069th minute:<\/strong>\u00a0Fortune cut in from the left wing and curled a shot from the top of the box into the bottom-right corner to put Atlanta ahead, 1\u20130.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LA\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Gabriel Pec\u00a0(Marco Reus),\u00a074th minute:<\/strong>\u00a0Erik Thommy swung an outlet pass to Reus, who slipped\u00a0a through\u00a0ball\u00a0to Pec. Pec dribbled past the final defender and beat the Atlanta keeper with a low shot into the bottom-left corner to level the match for the Galaxy.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<strong>LA \u2013 Gabriel Pec, 79th minute:<\/strong>\u00a0Reus was played in behind the Atlanta back line, and the German\u00a0international\u00a0cut a cross into the box from the right wing to find Gabriel Pec\u00a0who saw his\u00a0initial shot saved, but finished the rebound to complete the Galaxy\u2019s comeback.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tonight\u2019s win was\u00a0the LA Galaxy\u2019s third consecutive\u00a0victory\u00a0over\u00a0Atlanta United FC\u00a0in the head-to-head series\u00a0overall.\u00a0Notably,\u00a0it was also\u00a0the Galaxy\u2019s first win at\u00a0Mercedes-Benz Stadium in three tries since\u00a0its opening\u00a0in\u00a02017.\u00a0In addition,\u00a0<strong>Gabriel\u00a0Pec<\/strong>\u00a0recorded\u00a0the\u00a0Galaxy\u2019s\u00a0first two goals\u00a0inside the venue\u00a0with his second-half brace tonight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The Galaxy extended their scoring streak to 21\u00a0consecutive matches with\u00a0<strong>Gabriel Pec<\/strong>&#8216;s\u00a0first\u00a0of two second half\u00a0goals, continuing the longest active scoring streak in MLS.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Defender\u00a0<strong>Jakob Glesnes<\/strong>\u00a0started the match with the captain\u2019s armband tonight for the first time in MLS Regular Season play as a member of the Galaxy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>With his two goals\u00a0tonight, winger\u00a0<strong>Gabriel\u00a0Pec<\/strong>\u00a0became the third player for the LA Galaxy to score a brace\u00a0in MLS action\u00a0this season, after\u00a0<strong>Jo\u00e3o\u00a0Klauss<\/strong>\u00a0against Charlotte FC and\u00a0<strong>Marco Reus<\/strong>\u00a0against Real Salt Lake.\u00a0This is the third game this season\u00a0across all competitions in which Pec has scored two\u00a0goals\u00a0or more.\u00a0Pec has now\u00a0contributed to a club-leading 13 goals across all competitions in 2026 (nine goals, four assists).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Defender\u00a0<strong>Juli\u00e1n Aude<\/strong>\u00a0(ankle), forward\u00a0<strong>Jo\u00e3o Klauss<\/strong>\u00a0(foot), and forward\u00a0<strong>Matheus Nascimento<\/strong>\u00a0(thigh) were unavailable for\u00a0selection\u00a0in tonight\u2019s match due to injury.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The LA Galaxy\u00a0continue\u00a0their\u00a010-day\u00a0road trip\u00a0with a\u00a0midweek contest against Sporting Kansas City at Sporting Park on Wednesday, May 13 (5:30 p.m. PT, Apple TV).\u00a0Then, the Galaxy\u00a0wrap\u00a0up the road swing three days later with a visit to Seattle to take on Sounders FC at Lumen\u00a0Field on Saturday, May 16 (6 p.m. PT, Apple TV).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Match:<\/strong>\u00a0LA Galaxy vs\u00a0Atlanta United FC<\/p>\n<p><strong>Venue<\/strong>:\u00a0Mercedes-Benz Stadium;\u00a0Atlanta,\u00a0Georgia\u00a0<br \/><strong>Weather<\/strong>: Cloudy\u00a0and\u00a074\u00b0F<\/p>\n<p>ATL:\u00a0Jay\u00a0Fortune,\u00a069\u2019\u00a0<br \/>LA:\u00a0Gabriel Pec\u00a0(Marco Reus, Joseph Paintsil),\u00a074\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>LA\u00a0Galaxy: G<\/strong>K JT\u00a0Marcinkowski;\u00a0D John Nelson, D Emiro Garc\u00e9s, D Jakob Glesnes, D Mauricio\u00a0Cuevas;\u00a0M Edwin Cerrillo,\u00a0M Justin Haak\u00a0(Marco Reus, 65\u2019),\u00a0M Lucas\u00a0Sanabria\u00a0(Elijah Wynder, 73\u2019);\u00a0F Harbor Miller\u00a0(Erik Thommy, 73\u2019), F Gabriel Pec,\u00a0F Joseph Paintsil\u00a0(Maya Yoshida, 90+1\u2019)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0<br \/>Substitutes not used:\u00a0Novak Mi\u0107ovi\u0107, Miki Yamane, Isaiah Parente,\u00a0Troy Elgersma, Ruben Ramos Jr.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Atlanta United FC<\/strong>:\u00a0GK Lucas Hoyos; D Elias Baez,\u00a0D Stian Gregersen,\u00a0D Juan Berrocal\u00a0(Enea Mihaj, 84\u2019),\u00a0D Tomas Jacob;\u00a0M Tristan Muyumba,\u00a0M Cooper Sanchez\u00a0(Sergio Santos, 83\u2019),\u00a0M Alexey Miranchukl,\u00a0M Matias Galarza\u00a0(Jay Fortune, 60\u2019);\u00a0F Latte Lath\u00a0(Cayman Togashi, 71\u2019),\u00a0F Saba Lobjanidze\u00a0(Luke Brennan, 71\u2019)<\/p>\n<p>Substitutes\u00a0not used<strong\/>:\u00a0Jayden Hibbert, Matthew Edwards, Pedro Amador, Will Reilly<\/p>\n<p>ATL:\u00a0Stian Gregersen\u00a0(caution)\u00a026\u2019<\/p>\n<p>ATL:\u00a0Cooper Sanchez\u00a0(caution, dismissal)\u00a028\u2019<\/p>\n<p>ATL:\u00a0Juan Berrocal\u00a0(caution, dismissal)\u00a030\u2019<\/p>\n<p>ATL:\u00a0Atlanta United FC bench\u00a0(caution)\u00a044\u2019<\/p>\n<p>ATL:\u00a0Atlanta United FC bench\u00a0(caution)\u00a045+1\u2019<\/p>\n<p>LA: LA Galaxy bench\u00a0(caution)\u00a045+3\u2019<\/p>\n<p>LA:\u00a0Jakob Glesnes\u00a0(caution)\u00a053\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Assistant Referees:\u00a0Jeffrey Swartzel, Nick Balcer<\/p>\n<p>Fourth Official:\u00a0Sergii\u00a0Demianchuk<\/p>\n<p>All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial<\/p>\n<p><strong>LA Galaxy Postgame Top Quotes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On what changed in the game to get the team three points on the road:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe knew at some points in the game, and with 30 minutes left, we wanted to get Marco [Reus] out. Get a little more attacking minded and fresh legs. The group had a strong mentality and kept with\u00a0it,\u00a0they kept doing the work. They kept defending and finding\u00a0the opportunities\u00a0in transition. There are some good things to take\u00a0away\u00a0but the mentality over this last stretch of games has been outstanding.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0proud of the guys for sticking with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Gabriel Pec\u2019s brace and his training efforts:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was not a product of training differently; in fact,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0been out, recovering from the last match and\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0been trying to manage him through the week and last couple of days. Like\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0heard me say before, we want to find Gabe on the move and ideally moving toward the\u00a0goal\u00a0and he was more clinical through the finishes. Getting Gabe running behind the back line and getting him at speed. He did\u00a0a great job\u00a0of taking those two and hopefully that builds some confidence for him and today he took both of his [shots] with confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On if he was worried about the physicality of the match going into it:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe game was fast and inside the midfield with the two natural pivots; we were having\u00a0a hard time\u00a0finding enough players ahead of the ball and when we did, we\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have the numbers to really attack and make something of those situations. Our shift was always going to be about attacking further down the stretch and it was a matter of getting us there. I thought a lot of things worked. The game was fast and physical and when we recovered the\u00a0ball\u00a0we needed to make good decisions and move forward. The guys came onto the field and executed exactly how they were supposed to execute.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On his decision to sub in more defenders toward the end of the match:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey came on with two forwards. Joe had run his last sprint. We were starting to lose\u00a0numbers\u00a0and we knew they had two strikers on the field. I went back and really assessed the last\u00a0game\u00a0and I know we went to five.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a foul we\u00a0shouldn\u2019t\u00a0commit. I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0feel like it was an issue of the structure I\u00a0thought it\u00a0was the plays we need to be better at. It worked out. Sometimes it will and many times it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0but if the decision is the right decision, you\u00a0have to\u00a0believe in it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>LA Galaxy\u00a0Defender\u00a0Jakob Glesnes<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On\u00a0what tonight\u2019s win says about the team\u2019s mentality:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s\u00a0huge, like you said, the mentality in the group now.\u00a0It&#8217;s\u00a0like we can beat anyone, no matter where we are. And that was the mindset that we had going into the game today as well. Again, it wasn&#8217;t the cleanest game, but again, we knew as long as we\u00a0can\u00a0defend well, especially away, that we&#8217;re\u00a0going to\u00a0have opportunities\u00a0going\u00a0forward as well, because we have some quick, good guys in the front that can do special things.\u00a0And\u00a0the mentality that we showed\u00a0after going down 1-0 today, and to come back and now, in the\u00a0end,\u00a0win 2-1,\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0huge. So, I think the game\u00a0plan\u00a0today was really good. You saw the changes that we\u00a0did. That was huge. We\u00a0got\u00a0in fresh guys that have seen the game from the outside and came in and knew exactly where it was going to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On\u00a0wearing the captain\u2019s armband and being back from the injury:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst of all,\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0proud to do that.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0an honor.\u00a0It&#8217;s\u00a0fun to go in\u00a0the front\u00a0for\u00a0everyone, but we have so many guys that are\u00a0able to\u00a0do the job here. With me, and in the locker room,\u00a0there\u00a0are\u00a0so many leaders, so\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0an easy job.\u00a0I would say,\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0easy to say now after\u00a0we&#8217;ve\u00a0been winning away. But,\u00a0yeah, no, I have been feeling great. I had to manage the first game\u00a0with\u00a0just 45 minutes. In my head, I wanted to play 90, but also, I understand it from the doctor&#8217;s side that\u00a0we had to start slowly, but then 90 against Vancouver, and also today, it feels\u00a0good, and also even better when we are taking 3 points away.\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0going to\u00a0have a good night of sleep tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On\u00a0the team\u00a0chemistry and the\u00a0cohesiveness\u00a0being\u00a0created within the team:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, I feel like that has been one of our strengths now, the last couple of games. I would say\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0not just the back\u00a0line,\u00a0I would say\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0more the whole team. It&#8217;s from the front and all the way back to JT\u00a0in\u00a0goal, and when we are defending as one unit, we are so hard to play against, and then we know also that we have the quality up top, where some magic can happen.\u00a0So,\u00a0if we are doing our job as a unit,\u00a0then we know we are getting chances in every game.\u00a0Today, we took it with both our arms, and here we\u00a0are with\u00a03 points. That is huge, and that is building something also, some confidence that we are\u00a0taking\u00a0with us on Wednesday, because we know\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0going to\u00a0be a tough week. But I would say, now, over the last three games, we have built some momentum, and some confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA (May 9, 2026) \u2013\u00a0The LA Galaxy (4\u20114\u20114, 16\u00a0points)\u00a0came from behind\u00a0to win\u00a02-1 against\u00a0Eastern Conference side\u00a0Atlanta United FC\u00a0(3-8-1,\u00a010 points)&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":785935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2961,224,5337,32154,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-785934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-losangeles","13":"tag-match-report","14":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116548798299714528","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}