Anders Dreyer's Three Assists Lift 10-Man San Diego FC Past LA Galaxy 3-1, Spoiling Hirving Lozano's Return

Hirving Lozano got the homecoming nobody else in the building wanted for him. Booed on every touch at Snapdragon Stadium, according to MLSsoccer.com, the LA Galaxy forward buried a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner in the 55th minute against the club that loaned him away, then helped set up what looked like an equalizer six minutes later. Then came the video review, the goal came off the board, and the night belonged to San Diego again.

San Diego FC beat the LA Galaxy 3-1 on Saturday night, and it did it the hard way, playing everything after the 50th minute with 10 men following Jeppe Tverskov's second yellow card. Anders Dreyer was the engine, credited by ESPN with assists on all three San Diego goals, and goalkeeper CJ dos Santos made six saves to keep a frantic Galaxy push at bay.

San Diego Comes Out Swinging

The hosts treated the opening 11 minutes like a shooting drill. Oscar Verhoeven had an effort blocked in the first minute, Elias Achouri just missed from the left side of the six-yard box in the sixth, and Novak Micovic had to make saves on Gabriel Pirani and Dreyer in the eighth and ninth. After a Manu Duah header was blocked, San Diego finally broke through off a corner, with Dreyer teeing up Achouri for a first-time finish from point-blank range into the bottom right corner.

From there, the first half turned into a referee's workout. Marco Reus was booked in the 21st minute, and San Diego collected three yellow cards of its own through Tverskov, Pirani and Aníbal Godoy before halftime. The Galaxy had most of the ball but little bite until Reus forced dos Santos into a save in first-half stoppage time.

A Red Card, a Comeback Bid and a Gut Punch

San Diego doubled the lead almost immediately after the restart. In the 48th minute, Dreyer found left back Kieran Sargeant arriving at the back post, and Sargeant drove a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner for 2-0.

Two minutes later, everything changed. Tverskov picked up his second yellow card for a foul and was sent off, and the Galaxy smelled blood. Dos Santos saved from Reus and Lozano in the 54th minute, and a minute later Lozano pounced when San Diego could not clear its box, steering his shot low to the left for 2-1. Greg Vanney sent on Erik Thommy and newly signed Sergi Roberto in the 56th, and Roberto nearly equalized with a shot that just missed the top right corner in the 58th.

In the 61st minute, Kyogo Furuhashi put the ball in the net. After a video review, the goal was overturned, and MLSsoccer.com reported it was chalked off for a foul by Lozano in the buildup.

San Diego, down a man and suddenly given new life, punished the Galaxy nine minutes later. Substitute Amahl Pellegrino, on for Achouri in the 67th minute, finished a fast break with a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner for 3-1. ESPN credits Dreyer with the assist; the Galaxy's match report credited Alejandro Alvarado. The visitors kept firing, with Robert Taylor, Thommy and Lozano all forcing saves late, but dos Santos held firm through 10 minutes of stoppage time.

Dreyer, Dos Santos and a Bittersweet Return

Dreyer did not score, but he touched everything. Three assists by ESPN's count, six shots and two on target, all while San Diego spent half the night a man down. He was the reason San Diego's first half produced 1-0 instead of nothing, and the reason the counterattack was lethal when the hosts finally got one.

Dos Santos was the other hero. Six saves, three of them in the final 20 minutes with the Galaxy throwing bodies forward, and a late yellow card for his trouble.

Lozano finished with seven shots, three on target and his first goal since joining the Galaxy on Aug. 7, per the club. MLSsoccer.com noted that he was San Diego's first-ever Designated Player and a key part of its 2025 expansion season before spending the opening months of this year on the sidelines. Vanney praised how he handled the occasion.

"I thought he handled it wonderfully. I'm happy for him," Vanney said, per the Galaxy. "I thought he handled himself like a professional."

Roberto, in his Galaxy debut, completed 97.9 percent of his 46 passes in 34 minutes, according to the club. "You just see his class," Vanney said.

The Turning Point: The Goal That Wasn't

The Galaxy were on top when Furuhashi scored. They had the extra man, they had just pulled one back and they had the crowd nervous. The review took the goal and, by Vanney's own account, the rhythm with it.

"I felt like we went from the elation of scoring and being back in the game to the emotional gut punch of no, we're going to take that goal back," Vanney said. He added that the stoppage gave San Diego a chance to reorganize, and he did not hide his frustration with what followed: "The third goal is a goal that just shouldn't happen, right?"

Lozano was more philosophical about the call, saying "sometimes it's issues of small details that are not under your control, but well, that's how it is."

Stats That Matter

• Shots: San Diego 20, LA Galaxy 17, with seven on target apiece.
• Possession: The Galaxy held 56.5 percent and completed 472 passes to San Diego's 350.
• Saves: Dos Santos made six, Micovic three.
• Clearances: San Diego cleared the ball 22 times to the Galaxy's seven, a 10-man team doing what it had to do.
• Discipline: Four San Diego players were booked, and Tverskov was sent off.

What It Means

San Diego improved to 8-6-8 with 30 points, and MLSsoccer.com noted the win put SDFC above the playoff line in the Western Conference. The Galaxy fell to 6-8-9 with 26 points and, per the league site, dropped to third from bottom in the West in what it called a tight playoff race. The Galaxy host the New England Revolution on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Vanney summed up the lesson in one line. "So you gotta keep it at two one and give yourself a chance down the stretch."

The Ex Always Shows Up

Lozano's night played out like the classic rom-com scene where the ex crashes the party, gives the best toast of the night and still goes home alone. He scored, he dragged the Galaxy back into it and he had a hand in the goal that almost leveled it. San Diego, a man down and booing all the way, still got the last laugh, and Dreyer made sure nobody will remember the night as Lozano's.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details as reported by lagalaxy.com and mlssoccer.com.