LA Galaxy 2, Montreal Impact 0 | 2017 MLS Match Recap

The LA Galaxy returned to winning ways on Friday, as they defeated 10-man Montreal Impact 2-0 at StubHub Center.

The hosts opened the scoring 15 minutes in, as Romain Alessandrini made a late run onto Emmanuel Boateng's centering pass and slotted it past Evan Bush. Montreal's prospects took a hit just before halftime, as Marco Donadel was given a straight red card for a foul on Jermaine Jones. Jones then tallied his first goal for the Galaxy in the second half to ice the result.

Jones in the thick of it in Galaxy win over Impact

Goals

15' – LA – Romain Alessandrini Watch
74' – LA – Jermaine Jones Watch

Three Things

CONTENTIOUS RED CARD:
It may not have been an actual turning point in the game, considering the Galaxy were already ahead, but Donadel's red card seemed like the point of no return for the Impact on the night, and so it turned out to be. Surely the call will be scrutinized in the days to come, with Donadel appearing to initiate some contact, and Jones appearing to sell that contact as much as he could. Was it a fair ejection?

Another angle of the Donadel red card. pic.twitter.com/vqDuCP8bH3
— Total MLS (@TotalMLS) April 8, 2017

NEEDED WIN FOR LA: With Giovani dos Santos and Gyasi Zardes still playing their way into the season, it was the wingers, Alessandrini and Boateng, who provided most of the attacking spark on the night. Add in Jones' tally and the clean sheet -- in particular to help goalkeeper Clement Diop get confidence after a shaky outing last week -- and the game went about as well as LA could have hoped for. Now, we'll see if they can make winning a regular habit after a rocky start to the season.

WINLESS IN MONTREAL: The Impact, meanwhile, are still looking for their first win of the season. Five games in, they have three points, so they aren't out of any contention in just the second month of the campaign, and a cross-continental trip to LA is about as tough of a jaunt as they'll have this year. But clearly Mauro Biello has some tinkering to do in order to get his team in the win column for 2017.

Next Up

LA: Saturday, April 15 – at Orlando (2:30 pm ET | FOX, FOX Deportes in US, MLS LIVE in Canada)
MTL: Saturday, April 15 – vs. Atlanta (1 pm ET | CTV, TVAS in Canada, MLS LIVE in US)

Alicia Rodriguez -

@SoccerMusings