When the Vegas oddsmakers put out betting lines on the MLS playoffs last week, they listed the Galaxy as the favorites to win the Western Conference and advance to their first MLS Cup final in a decade.
If that raised a few eyebrows, given the way the team played in its playoff opener Saturday, maybe the sportsbooks aren’t giving the team enough credit. Because with Dejan Joveljic and Riqui Puig each scoring two goals and John Nelson adding his first MLS score, the Galaxy blew out the Colorado Rapids 5-0 at Dignity Health Sports Park in a game that was far more one-sided than the score.
The score matched the largest margin of victory in a playoff game in franchise history, one last achieved in the first round against Real Salt Lake in 2014. That was also the last time the Galaxy played in the MLS Cup final. And Saturday’s match was the most lopsided loss for the Rapids in more than two years.
“It was a very clean performance. Probably one of the best I can remember,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “And at a good time.”
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The Galaxy go to suburban Denver for the second game of the best-of-three series Friday needing another win to advance to the conference semifinals. A loss would force a third game at Dignity Health Sports Park on Nov. 9.
Neither outcome is ideal for the Galaxy, given the bizarre MLS playoff schedule.
Sweeping the first two games would send the Galaxy to the conference semifinals, but with the playoffs pausing for the November international break, the team’s next game wouldn’t be until Nov. 23 at the earliest, a 22-day pause that threatens to rob the team of its rhythm.
A loss, meanwhile, would force a winner-take-all game at home with the Galaxy’s season on the line. Vanney said he’s not about to overthink it.
“In the best of three, you take this win and now we’ve got two games to win one to get to the next round,” he said.
Given the way the Galaxy dominated, Saturday’s result may be worth a little more in ways that weren’t reflected on the score sheet.
“Now we have all the momentum,” Nelson said. “The job’s not done. We keep going. [But] we set the tone. We set the…