Los Angeles FC vs. Los Angeles Galaxy Standings
Overview
Los Angeles FC (LAFC) and Los Angeles Galaxy are the two clubs representing the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, and their matchup is called "El Tráfico," the league's top-drawing rivalry. Although based in the same metropolitan area, their founding backgrounds and club operating philosophies differ greatly, so their regular-season standings competition serves as a key variable shaping the Western Conference race each season. This document summarizes the two clubs' basic information, head-to-head record, Western Conference standings competition structure, and season-by-season trends.
Main Content
Overview of the Two Clubs
- Los Angeles Galaxy: An original MLS club founded in 1994, playing its home matches at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. With six MLS Cup titles (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2024), it holds the league record for most championships and is a historic powerhouse that has produced star players such as David Beckham and Landon Donovan.
- Los Angeles FC: A new club founded in 2014 that joined the league in 2018, playing at BMO Stadium near Downtown. It quickly reached the league's top tier by winning the Supporters' Shield in 2019 and both the MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield in 2022.
El Tráfico and Head-to-Head Record
Since their first meeting in 2018, the two teams have clashed numerous times in the regular season, U.S. Open Cup, and playoffs. Initially, the new club LAFC held the upper hand through rapid squad strengthening, and from the mid-2020s onward the Galaxy counterattacked, with the all-time record continuing to narrow to a slight margin. Their matchup is highly popular, recording among the league's top single-match attendance figures, and in the standings it is classified as a "six-point game" in which the teams directly cut into each other's points.
Structure of the Western Conference Standings Competition
MLS determines playoff qualifiers by regular-season points standings in the Eastern and Western Conferences, with ranking decided in the order of points → wins → goal difference → goals scored → disciplinary points → away goals, etc. Therefore, if the two teams are tied on points, goal difference and goals scored become decisive variables.
- 2018–2019: LAFC entered the top tier of the Western Conference in just its second season and began to overtake the Galaxy.
- 2020–2022: LAFC won the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup, securing the initiative in the standings competition, while the Galaxy moved between mid-table and the upper tier.
- 2023: The Galaxy had a poor season and fell to the lower tier of the Western Conference, while LAFC remained in the upper tier, widening the gap.
- 2024: The Galaxy finished the regular season first in the Western Conference and went on to win the MLS Cup, completing a full reversal, while LAFC stayed in the upper tier and competed in the playoffs.
Factors Affecting the Standings
Sponsorship and attendance absorption capacity due to local rivalry, salary cap management, use of the Designated Player (DP) system, investment in youth academies, and whether to rotate according to cup competition schedules such as the Concacaf Champions Cup and U.S. Open Cup are cited as major variables determining the two teams' league standings.
Latest Trends
In the 2024 season, the Galaxy achieved first place in the Western Conference regular season and the MLS Cup simultaneously, recording the club's sixth league title, while LAFC maintained upper-tier strength and continued playoff competition. In the 2025 season, the Galaxy entered a squad rebuild due to the departure of key title-winning resources and generational change, while LAFC aimed for upper-tier competition in the Western Conference based on continuity of its existing squad. However, the two teams' standings change frequently depending on the course of the season, transfer market responses, and injury situations, so it is advisable to check the exact latest standings through the official MLS Western Conference standings table.
Related Topics
- [[Major League Soccer]]
- [[El Tráfico]]
- [[Los Angeles FC]]
- [[Los Angeles Galaxy]]