João Klauss Scores, Pablo Sisniega Stands Tall as LA Galaxy and San Diego FC Draw 2-2

Four goals, a penalty and a VAR reversal, all before the 40th minute. Then nothing. The LA Galaxy and San Diego FC spent the first half of Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park going end to end and the second half staring at each other, and the scoreboard never moved again.

The Galaxy and San Diego drew 2-2 in Carson. João Klauss and Erik Thommy scored for the hosts, Anders Dreyer and Gabriel Pirani answered for the visitors, and Pablo Sisniega made seven saves to make sure San Diego left with a point despite LA putting nine shots on target.

Thirty-Nine Minutes of Chaos

It took four minutes for the first one. Sergi Roberto slipped the ball to Klauss in midfield, and the Brazilian charged through the San Diego half before curling a right-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom-right corner, per the Galaxy's account. Six minutes later, it was level. JT Marcinkowski brought down Cédric Bakambu in the box, and Dreyer buried the penalty into the top-left corner with his left foot.

Klauss thought he had restored the lead in the 12th minute with a header, but VAR ruled it out for offside. The Galaxy did not sulk about it for long. In the 17th minute, a quick transition down the right ended with Harbor Tarczynski-Miller crossing to the back post, where Thommy hit it first time into the bottom-left corner for 2-1.

San Diego settled into what they do best, which is keeping the ball. Elias Achouri fired just wide in the 29th minute, and Sisniega saved a Marco Reus strike from distance in the 37th. Two minutes later, Oscar Verhoeven's shot from the center of the box was blocked, the ball deflected off a Galaxy defender, according to the club, and Pirani was waiting to finish into the bottom-left corner. Two-all at the break, with six minutes of first-half stoppage time to reflect on it all.

The Second Half Belonged to the Goalkeepers

After the break, San Diego had the ball and the Galaxy had the better looks. Reus forced Sisniega into back-to-back saves in the 59th and 60th minutes, Pablo Ruiz tested him from distance in the 62nd and 76th, and Robert Taylor was denied in the 65th. At the other end, Marcinkowski stopped a Bakambu header in the 62nd, a Pirani shot in the 68th and a Marcus Ingvartsen effort in the 70th. Dreyer dragged one just wide on the break a minute later.

Both coaches went to the bench in the 66th minute, and San Diego lost Kieran Sargeant to an injury in the 83rd. Klauss headed over in the 81st, and Reus, booked in stoppage time, fired over from outside the box after a late free kick. That was the last chance of the night.

Stars of the Night

João Klauss scored one, had another taken off the board and was a constant threat. According to the Galaxy, it was his ninth MLS goal of the season in just his 14th regular-season appearance, and his fourth goal in 374 minutes across his last five matches.

Pablo Sisniega was the reason San Diego took anything home. Seven saves against nine Galaxy shots on target, six of them from the 37th minute on.

Marco Reus put three of his four shots on target and, per the Galaxy, picked up his 12th MLS assist of the season with a secondary assist on Thommy's goal. The club says he has been involved in 20 of the Galaxy's 43 goals this season. Thommy, who grew up watching him, put it best: "I was growing up watching him; I was playing against him in Germany, and now I play with him."

Gabriel Pirani scored the equalizer and put two of his three shots on target before giving way in the 78th minute.

Erik Thommy scored his second goal of the season and his first at home, per the club.

The Turning Point

Pirani's 39th-minute equalizer. The Galaxy had weathered San Diego's possession and gone back in front, and a lead at halftime would have let them sit deeper and play on the counter, which is what they wanted to do. Instead, a deflection fell kindly for San Diego, and the Galaxy spent the second half chasing on tired legs. Thommy admitted as much: "You could see the last 20 minutes tired legs. Some players were trying to survive, I would say."

Stats That Matter

• Possession: San Diego 68.9 percent, Galaxy 31.1.
• Passes: San Diego completed 720 to the Galaxy's 283.
• Shots on target: Galaxy 9, San Diego 5. Possession did not equal danger.
• Saves: Sisniega seven, Marcinkowski three.
• Blocked shots: Four San Diego attempts were blocked; none of the Galaxy's were.

What It Means

The Galaxy move to 10-10-11 (wins, draws, losses) with 40 points, and the club says they sit eighth in the West, the first of two Wild Card playoff spots. The point capped a run of three games in six days that began with a heavy defeat in St. Louis and continued with a 2-0 win over Portland. Coach Greg Vanney was pleased with the start: "We started beautifully, and then the game started to get heavy on us as it got going." He also wants the pressure kept on: "I would love to be able to say we're really safely in it, but I actually want our mentality to be that we are fighting for every moment."

San Diego move to 8-10-12 with 34 points, level on points with Portland and Minnesota by our count. They are winless in eight since beating the Galaxy 3-1 on Aug. 29, and four of their last five have been draws. They remain unbeaten against the Galaxy this season.

The Closing Take

This one played like a summer blockbuster that spent its entire effects budget in the first act. Four goals, a penalty, a VAR twist, then an hour of the cast walking around waiting for the credits. Thommy, honest as ever, captured the plot: "Having played three games in six days, that's tough."

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and match notes as reported by the LA Galaxy.