Galaxy out to continue road improvement vs. Crew

Field Level Media|published: Tue 21st April, 18:47 2026

Apr 18, 2026; Frisco, Texas, USA; LA Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil (28) dribbles the ball against FC Dallas defender Sebastien Ibeagha (25) during the second half at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Galaxy can surpass a dubious mark from last season with a victory at the Columbus Crew on Wednesday night.

Defeating the struggling Crew (1-4-3, 6 points) would give the Galaxy (2-3-3, 9 points) eight points on the road, one more than they earned in 2025.

The most recent example of the Galaxy's newfound confidence was rallying from a two-goal deficit for a 2-2 draw at FC Dallas on Saturday to improve to 1-1-2 in away matches.

"I think everybody believes that we can continue this momentum," Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. "We've got a tough stretch because we play (four) out of our next (six) on the road ... so we've got to be road warriors during this time too and take points."

The Galaxy were 0-10-7 on the road in 2025 but in addition to the FC Dallas match, they have a tie at Portland and a win at Austin.

"I think maybe even last year we would have maybe put our heads down and just kind of gave up, unfortunately," Galaxy defender John Nelson said. "But I think this year, the Austin win and now this going into Columbus, it's everything."

Meanwhile, the Crew used to be nearly impossible to beat at home. But under first-year coach Henrik Rydstrom, they are 0-1-2 and they have one win in the past five matches overall.

"I think we all just need to be more accountable in terms of, we know what we're doing right now is not working, so we have to do something to change and it's on the players. It's on us," Crew midfielder Max Arfsten said.

The Crew must find their way offensively in their second match without Wessam Abou Ali, their leading scorer (five goals), who sustained a torn ACL and meniscus damage in his right knee on April 12 vs. Orlando City.

In contrast, the Galaxy got a boost against Dallas when Joseph Paintsil returned from a hamstring injury that kept him out since March 7. He scored the tying goal and had an assist.

"You see that Joe makes a huge difference," Vanney said. "The chances that Joe gets with his quality and velocity, speed, things like that, it changes the group."

--Field Level Media

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