CARSON, Calif. — Robbie Keane returned from knee surgery to score two goals, Gyasi Zardes had two assists, and the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the New England Revolution, 4-2, on Sunday.
Los Angeles (5-1-3) extended its undefeated streak to seven games. New England (1-3-7), meanwhile, pushed its winless stretch to six games.
The Galaxy went up, 1-0, after Zardes’s cross found a wide-open Keane at the far post for an easy tap in. The duo made it 3-0 in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. Once again, Zardes used individual skill to draw defenders and found Keane freed up in front of goal.
Giovani dos Santos scored Los Angeles’s second goal in the 24th minute on a volley from distance.
“In the first 45 minutes, there was nothing to be proud about,’’ said Revolution forward Juan Agudelo. “We kept our heads up and at halftime we talked amongst each other and we said we have to take it personally.’’
“That’s what we went out and did in the second half and it felt like we were battling more.’’
Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena lauded his three top performers after the game.
“I think [Keane, Zardes, and dos Santos] did a real good job,’’ he said. “They were dangerous for the most part, some really good movement. Out of the three of them there were three goals produced. I thought Gyasi Zardes had one of his best games of the year. I thought he played very well. So it was encouraging to see our three highest players be pretty dangerous for most of the game.’’
New England rallied in the second half. Kelyn Rowe’s left-footed shot from outside the 18-yard box put the Revolution on the board in the 67th minute. Three minutes later, Agudelo turned on a shot in front of goal to make it 3-2.
Los Angeles iced it when Steven Gerrard finished a counter attack in the 93d minute.
“It just wasn’t good enough in the first half. We dug ourselves into a hole, but we did start to dig ourselves out of it,’’ said Rowe. “I thought we came out in the second half and played very well.
“Even though we went down a man with the injuries and using all our subs, we were still going for that third goal.
“There is a positive in this game, but it just wasn’t good enough overall. So we just need to go into this next three-game home stretch and do a lot better.’’
