Vanney proud of LA Galaxy players after record winless start ends

LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney was bursting with pride after his team finally secured their first win of the MLS season, beating Real Salt Lake 2-0 at home on Saturday.

The defending MLS Cup champions had previously gone their first 16 games without a win, losing 12 and drawing four.

That was the longest winless start to a season by any side in MLS history, while their four points from 16 games were also the fewest at that stage in league history.

But Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil netted either side of half-time at Dignity Health Sports Park to leave Vanney – who recently signed a new long-term contract with the club – breathing a sigh of relief.

“I’m proud of these guys because they’ve stuck with it,” Vanney told reporters after the game, as quoted by the official MLS website.

“Today they battled, and it was commitment for 90 minutes. Just proud of our guys for staying in it and competing all the way to the end. Game after game, showing up and putting it out there.

“They deserve this. It’s a hard-fought first win.”

Despite their victory, the Galaxy remain bottom of the Western Conference, though they have cut the gap to St. Louis City to seven points.

While the Galaxy had previously been on a dreadful run, they had remained competitive in most matches and have currently only been beaten by a margin of two or more goals on two occasions this season.

Never tell me the odds pic.twitter.com/zVVTdqTLzm

— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 1, 2025

And Vanney felt Saturday’s win was vindication of what they had been trying to achieve up to this point.

“I think more of the pieces are starting to come together. With that, some of the clarity in our play and what we’re trying to see is starting to come together,” he said.

“I think the guys overall have been fighting to try to get a result.”

Vanney is also confident that this result and performance could give them a platform to build on looking towards the rest of the 2025 season.

“The last five games, we’ve been more healthy. We’ve had the majority of our group together. We’ve seen some younger guys come along,” he said.

“I don’t see why we can’t get on a run. For us, as a group, it’s about learning how to win and getting across the finish line. So hopefully tonight will be a lesson.”