Joseph Paintsil scored a first-half goal, LA added two scores late in the second half, and the Galaxy blanked the San Jose Earthquakes 3-0 on Saturday night for their fourth consecutive win.
Paintsil scored with an assist from Gabriel Pec in the 37th minute and the Galaxy took the 1-0 lead into the break.
In the second half, Dejan Joveljic scored in the 72nd minute with a header after Riqui Puig had hit the crossbar. Mauricio Cuevas wrapped up the scoring with a goal in stoppage time. It was the first goal of his MLS career.
LA had seven shots on goal to six for San Jose. The Earthquakes had an 18-14 advantage in total shots. John McCarthy had six saves for the Galaxy and William Yarbrough stopped four for San Jose.
The Galaxy remain tied for first place in the Western Conference. LAFC (12-4-4) and the Galaxy (11-3-7) both have 40 points. Real Salt Lake (10-3-7) is off until Wednesday and remained at 37 points.
Saturday’s match marked the 101st edition across all competitions of the California Clásico between the Galaxy and Earthquakes, with LA now leading the all-time series 49-33-19 (166 GF, 142 GA). Against San Jose, LA holds a 40-28-17 record in league play, a 4-1-1 record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and a 5-4-1 record in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Earthquakes (3-15-2) travel to play St. Louis City on Wednesday. The Galaxy return home to host rival Los Angeles FC in a holiday showdown on Thursday.
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