LA Galaxy Winger Joseph Paintsil battles against two Cruz Azul defenders in the Galaxy’s 8-7 penalty defeat to the visitors on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at Dignity Health Sports Park.

The first 10 minutes of the match felt chaotic, with LA withstanding a barrage of pressure. LA Galaxy winger Joseph Paintsil was active throughout, and was the Galaxy’s focal point for much of the match.

His battles against Cruz Azul defenders came under scrutiny for their intensity, and on another night would have yielded Paintsil results. Referee Filiberto Calix was having none of it, however, and actually awarded Cruz Azul the ball on more than one occasion while Paintsil found himself thrown to the floor.

That Cruz Azul fans cheered his decisions only emboldened Calix, who by the end of the night, had seemingly reinterpreted the rules of soccer, and had missed at least one legitimate penalty opportunity by the Galaxy. 

“I think it’s a penalty at the end,” Vanney concurred. “Unless they’re saying it’s somehow outside of the box, he definitely gets a piece of them. But they didn’t. They didn’t care for Joe today.”

Even though the MLS Cup champs have a right to feel aggrieved by the officiating, Paintsil especially, they can only blame themselves for the dropped points.

They’ll now need to battle the unique conditions of this tournament again on Thursday, August 7, when they host Santos Laguna in the round’s last game. Since the Galaxy find themselves in fifth, they must win against Santos to go through to the next round.

If Sunday’s match is any indication, the Galaxy will need to overcome a hostile crowd, a referee who fancies himself the game’s protagonist, and their own finishing, to get a result against their next Liga MX opponent.