Jalen Neal faces former club as Montreal hosts Galaxy

When CF Montreal host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday evening, one of their players will, for the first time, face the club he called home for a decade.

Jalen Neal, a Los Angeles native, joined the Galaxy academy in 2015 and spent a decade with the organization before being traded to Montreal in January 2025.

While he still has friends on the Galaxy and watches them when he can, Saturday's objective is to pick up a win, Neal said on Thursday.

"Luckily, in only my second year here in Montreal, I get to play them, and at our stadium too, so that's even better," Neal said. "We're on a run to make playoffs, too, so obviously there's no friendship involved in that when we're on the field."

Alexis Sanchez made his debut for Montreal (5-10-5, 20 points) in the 79th minute of Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew, its third straight unbeaten result (1-0-2). The Chilean veteran won't start on Saturday as he works to build fitness, interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy said.

"The plan is to gradually increase his playing time so that, at some point, we hope he can start games," Eullaffroy said.

Despite Lucas Sanabria's red card in the 45th minute, the Galaxy (6-8-7, 25 points) snapped an 0-3-3 skid on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes in the latest edition of their intrastate rivalry. Joseph Paintsil scored the match's lone goal in the 79th minute, his fifth of the season.

"As the second half started to build, I thought the guys started to believe that they could get a win out of the game, and they found their moment," LA head coach Greg Vanney said. "Sometimes winning the hard way is even better for the mentality and the spirit of the group as you embark upon an important last part of the season."

Wednesday's match saw Hirving Lozano make his first start for the Galaxy since joining the team on loan from San Diego FC on Aug. 7.

Prince Owusu, CF Montreal's leading scorer with 12 goals, has found the net in three straight matches. His goal in the fifth minute against the Crew put him fourth all time in Montreal history with 25.

--Field Level Media