Marco Reus Sets Up Three as LA Galaxy Rout Austin FC 4-1 and Climb Back Into the Playoff Places

Marco Reus spent Saturday afternoon in Carson doing his best impression of a point guard who refuses to shoot until the game is already won. The German set up three goals, put three shots of his own on target, and turned the LA Galaxy's home finale into the kind of party the club had been waiting all season to throw.

The final at Dignity Health Sports Park read LA Galaxy 4-1 Austin FC, the Galaxy's highest-scoring match of the season, per the club, and it mattered. According to MLSsoccer.com, the win moved LA back inside the Western Conference playoff places, up to seventh with 44 points and one regular-season match left to play.

Klauss Kicks It Off, Reus Takes Over

The Galaxy needed 10 minutes to find the opener. Harbor Miller, the 19-year-old Homegrown, found João Klauss in the middle of the box, and the Brazilian slotted a right-footed finish into the bottom right corner. The club said it was his 10th MLS regular-season goal of the year.

Austin had a real chance to answer. In the 19th minute, Mikkel Desler threaded a through ball to Micah Burton, who was making his first career MLS start according to Austin FC, and Burton rattled the left post from the right side of the box.

Damian Las kept Austin within one for a stretch, stopping Reus in the 34th minute and Klauss from the right side of the six-yard box a minute later. The pressure eventually told. In the 38th minute, Reus clipped a ball to the far post and Hirving Lozano, back on the field after an injury he picked up on international duty with Mexico, per the club, headed it into the bottom left corner. Christian Ramírez nodded a Przemyslaw Placheta cross wide in first-half stoppage time, and the Galaxy went to the locker room up 2-0.

The Second Half Blitz

Greg Vanney swapped Lozano for Robert Taylor at the break, and the move paid off almost immediately. In the 48th minute, Reus squared it for Taylor in the center of the box, and Taylor blasted it into the top left corner against his former club.

Austin did not fold right away. Six minutes later, Burton fed Ervin Torres at the top of the area and the young midfielder curled a right-footed shot into the top right corner. Austin FC said it was the second goal of his MLS career, and both players came through the club's academy.

The comeback dream lasted 12 minutes. In the 66th minute, Reus used his head to flick a pass into the path of Sergi Roberto, and the former FC Barcelona captain finished into the top left corner for his first goal for the Galaxy, per MLSsoccer.com.

From there the game lost its edge, something Vanney admitted afterward. Ramírez and Ilie Sánchez both headed over, JT Marcinkowski made his only save on a Jorge Alastuey header in the 77th minute, and Las denied Justin Haak from point-blank range in the 89th. Reus was booked in the 87th minute, and substitute Zan Kolmanic was sent off five minutes into stoppage time.

The Stars Who Showed Up

Marco Reus was the conductor. Three assists, five shots, three on target. The club said the three assists were a Galaxy season high for a single match and that he now has 12 goal contributions in his last nine appearances. MLSsoccer.com put his season line at eight goals and 15 assists. "Just so much quality of vision. Obviously, the assists show the vision, the awareness, the capacity to do things," Vanney said, per MLSsoccer.com.

Robert Taylor made the halftime switch look genius. He took three shots in his half of work and scored one, and the club noted it was his sixth goal contribution in the Galaxy's last seven matches.

Hirving Lozano only played a half, but it was a productive one. His header was his second goal of the campaign and his first at Dignity Health Sports Park, according to the Galaxy. He also had kind words for his provider. "He has impressive quality, and I really like playing with him," Lozano said of Reus, per MLSsoccer.com.

The Turning Point

The 48th minute decided it. Austin went into the break down two goals but not out of it, having hit the post and found some joy with crosses. Taylor's strike within minutes of the restart turned a manageable deficit into a mountain, and it made Torres's beauty six minutes later feel like a consolation instead of a comeback.

Stats That Matter

• Shots on target: LA put 10 on goal. Austin managed two.
• Saves: Las made six. Marcinkowski needed to make one.
• Possession: The Galaxy held 56.4 percent of the ball.
• Crosses: Austin attempted 25 and completed 11. LA completed just two of 14, and one of them was Reus's assist for Lozano.
• Discipline: The Galaxy committed only five fouls all game.

What It Means

The Galaxy are now 11-11-11 with 44 points. According to the club, they sit seventh in the West, a point clear of Colorado and Seattle, who both still had matches to play this weekend. MLSsoccer.com noted a playoff spot is not guaranteed yet, but LA can lock it up next Saturday in a Decision Day trip to Real Salt Lake, who sit two points back. The Galaxy have now gone four matches unbeaten since their 6-2 loss at St. Louis, and they swept the season series with Austin after a 2-1 win in Texas in April.

Vanney knows exactly what is waiting in Sandy. "It's going to be a team playing for their life at home, which just makes for a tough opponent," he said, per the club. He also sounded confident. "If we take care of business next week and we go into the playoffs, not a lot of teams are going to love seeing us across from them," Vanney said, per MLSsoccer.com.

Austin fall to 8-10-15 with 34 points and have lost five of their last six. They close the regular season at home against the Portland Timbers on Nov. 7.

The Closing Take

Austin showed up on Halloween dressed as a spoiler, and Reus spent the afternoon pulling off the mask like the final scene of a Scooby-Doo episode. The scariest part for the rest of the West might be what Vanney said afterward. "I could say we didn't have a great day today, but we still were able to win 4-1, and that's good. That means for us when we have a great day, we can be really good," he said, per the club. If this was the off day, Real Salt Lake should be nervous.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details as reported by the LA Galaxy, MLSsoccer.com and Austin FC.