Paintsil Breaks Through as 10-Man Galaxy Outlast San Jose in California Clásico
CARSON, Calif. — For nearly an entire half, the LA Galaxy played with one fewer man.
For most of the night, San Jose had more of the ball, more shots and more opportunities to change the scoreline.
In the end, the Galaxy needed only one opening.
Joseph Paintsil’s 79th-minute goal lifted LA to a 1–0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park, giving the Galaxy a dramatic win in the 106th California Clásico across all competitions.
It was a night built on patience, defensive resistance and one ruthless move when the opportunity finally arrived.
Photo: John Blanchard / FLORENZA
San Jose asks the first questions
The visitors did not wait long to threaten.
In the fourth minute, Luka Jovanović drew Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski away from his line before finding Paul Marie inside the penalty area. Marie had an open look at goal, but Jakob Glesnes recovered to clear the attempt off the line, preventing an early San Jose breakthrough.
Five minutes later, Jamar Ricketts found Jovanović near the six-yard box, where Marcinkowski was forced into a save. San Jose tested him again in the 12th minute when Jack Jasinski drove an effort toward the far post, only for the Galaxy goalkeeper to deny him with a kick save.
The Earthquakes had announced themselves.
LA survived.
Photo: John Blanchard / FLORENZA
The Galaxy gradually began finding their own rhythm.
With Marco Reus operating through midfield and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano making his first home start for the club, LA looked for ways to release Paintsil and Kyōgo Furuhashi into space.
Paintsil tested San Jose goalkeeper Angus Gunn from the right side, Lozano produced an effort from distance, and Furuhashi went close late in the half when he curled a shot just beyond the far side.
For Lozano, the occasion carried additional significance. After making his Galaxy debut as a substitute against Houston four days earlier, Wednesday marked his first appearance in front of the Dignity Health Sports Park crowd as a starter.
Photo: John Blanchard / FLORENZA
One card changes the night
Then, just before halftime, the complexion of the Clásico shifted.
Lucas Sanabria, already booked in the 37th minute, received a second yellow card in the 45th minute following a challenge on Ricketts.
Red card.
Ten men.
And an entire second half still to play.
The Galaxy went into halftime scoreless but suddenly faced a much different challenge. Instead of simply searching for a breakthrough, Greg Vanney’s side would have to balance attacking ambition with the reality of defending a man down against one of the Western Conference’s stronger teams.
Photo: John Blanchard / FLORENZA
San Jose pushes, Marcinkowski answers
The numerical advantage allowed San Jose to take greater control after the restart.
The Earthquakes ultimately finished with 21 shots compared with LA’s 10 and held 59.2 percent possession. They also earned five corners to the Galaxy’s two.
Yet possession never became a goal.
Second-half substitute Preston Judd had two opportunities to put San Jose in front. One sailed over the crossbar. Another, from close range, was stopped by Marcinkowski.
The former Earthquakes goalkeeper repeatedly stood between his old club and the opening goal.
Marcinkowski would finish the night with five saves and a clean sheet, continuing an impressive defensive stretch in which the Galaxy had gone 298 minutes without conceding a goal from open play across their previous four matches.
Photo: John Blanchard / FLORENZA
San Jose had the extra player.
They had the territorial advantage.
They had the chances.
What they did not have was the goal.
The opening LA had been waiting for
Then came the 79th minute.
Marco Reus received possession and released rookie defender Harbor Miller down the right.
Miller drove forward, entered the penalty area and looked up.
Instead of forcing a shot, he sent a low ball across the face of goal.
Paintsil was waiting at the back post.
One touch.
1–0 Galaxy.
After spending much of the second half defending, LA had punished San Jose with the kind of quick, decisive move the Earthquakes had failed to produce at the opposite end.
Photo: John Blanchard / FLORENZA
The finish was Paintsil’s fifth MLS goal of the 2026 season, pulling him level with João Klauss for the team lead in regular-season goals.
Reus was credited with his seventh assist of the league campaign, giving him a team-leading 11 MLS goal contributions — four goals and seven assists.
Miller, meanwhile, supplied his second assist of the season.
There was also a familiar pattern behind the move. Paintsil, Reus and Miller had combined in LA’s previous meeting with San Jose as well, a 1–1 draw at Stanford Stadium on July 25, when Paintsil scored the Galaxy’s opening goal.
This time, there would be no San Jose response.
One final test
The Earthquakes continued throwing players forward as the clock approached 90.
Their best late opportunity came when Timo Werner delivered from the left and Jasinski directed a header on target from close range.
Marcinkowski was there again.
The goalkeeper batted the attempt away and protected a lead LA had worked nearly the entire second half to earn.
When the final whistle finally arrived, Paintsil’s tap-in remained the difference.
Photo: John Blanchard / FLORENZA
More than three points
The victory ended a difficult stretch for the Galaxy.
LA had entered Wednesday winless in six MLS matches at 0-3-3 and had not won a competitive match since its 2–0 victory over Seattle Sounders on May 16.
That drought ended against one of the opponents for whom three points carry a little extra weight.
The Galaxy improved to 6-8-7 with 25 points, while San Jose fell to 10-7-3 with 33 points.
For the Earthquakes, the defeat continued a sudden reversal of form. San Jose, which had been one of the strongest teams in MLS earlier in the season, suffered its third consecutive loss and remained winless at 0-4-1 since July 1.
Photo: John Blanchard / FLORENZA
There will be nights when the numbers tell the story.
Wednesday was not one of them.
San Jose had 21 shots.
LA had 10 men for the entire second half.
The Earthquakes controlled nearly 60 percent of possession.
But rivalry matches are often decided by something smaller — one run, one pass, one opening that lasts only seconds.
Reus saw it.
Miller created it.
Paintsil finished it.
And after 90 minutes in Carson, one moment was enough to give the Galaxy the California Clásico.
FINAL — LA Galaxy 1–0 San Jose Earthquakes
Goal: Joseph Paintsil 79’
Assists: Harbor Miller
Red Card: Lucas Sanabria 45’ — second yellow
Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park — Carson, California
Attendance: 15,435
Shots: LA Galaxy 10 — 21 San Jose
Shots on Goal: LA Galaxy 7 — 6 San Jose
Possession: LA Galaxy 40.8% — 59.2% San Jose
Goalkeeper: JT Marcinkowski — five saves, clean sheet
