CARSON, Calif. (April 8, 2018)- Sporting KC walked into StubHub Center being the secondary story despite being in first place, and ended up walking out with three points. Tim Melia will take the headline though as he made 10 saves as Sporting KC beat LA Galaxy 2-0.

Sporting KC beat LA Galaxy 2-0

The Galaxy had to be riding a high going into this game, coming off their 4-3 come from behind victory in the first installment of the El Traffico. But Sporting KC were coming in on a defensive high of their own. After a wild start to the season, their backline looked much like it did last year when they knocked off D.C. United 1-0. Tim Melia helped them keep their second clean sheet of the year.

The Galaxy actually enjoyed the better of the chances in the first half of the match, but Sporting KC kept their chances manageable. At the start of the second half, the Galaxy started out strongly on the front foot. Then Sporting KC earned a corner kick and got it started. The ball ricocheted to Daniel Salloi, whose left foot strike squeaked its way into the net to make it 1-0. Johnny Russell made it 2-0 after taking a ball into the right channel, and dribbling through three Galaxy defenders before slipping it under David Bingham in an incredible individual effort.

https://twitter.com/TotalMLS/status/983173729365712896

The Galaxy then subbed on Zlatan and immediately got a bit of attacking boost. But Melia, and the Sporting KC backline came in and took care of business. Melia made three incredibly impressive saves in that final 25 minutes to keep the Galaxy comeback at bay. His performance was certainly worthy of Man of the Match, as he set a club record for saves in a game.

Sporting KC move to 13 points on the season and into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. They will take on the Seattle Sounders in a Sunday matinee on ESPN next week. LA Galaxy are still on 7 points, and stuck in third place in the West. They’ll take on Chicago next Saturday.