Photo by Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today Sports Images

By MARK EDWARD HORNISH

CARSON, Calif. – When the league schedule was released last winter, one date on the calendar was immediately circled by MLS fans.

And while Sunday’s match provided even more star power than anyone initially imagined, only one team provided the level of soccer the league hoped for with all the prestigious signings 2015 has brought.

The LA Galaxy rolled over New York City FC, 5-1, at Stub Hub Center, with Robbie Keane leading a second-half onslaught that proved too much for NYCFC’s tiring defense.

The Galaxy’s offensive output in the past two months has been fierce, and Sunday was no exception. The Galaxy have now scored 27 goals in their last five MLS matches, and 43 goals in their last nine at home in all competitions.

“It was a good day at the office. Good performance” said Keane, who finished with two goals and two assists. “At times the way we played, the way we moved the ball quickly, I thought it was fantastic.”

After playing the Galaxy level for the first half hour, NYCFC began to bend more and more as Galaxy started accumulating chances. The break occurred in the 32nd minute when  Keane caught NYCFC napping on a quick restart and sent in a hard curling cross that found the head of a wide-open Gyasi Zardes. Zardes slammed home a header past a helpless Josh Saunders, and the Galaxy nursed the one-goal lead into the half.

“I know that with the ball at Robbie Keane’s feet, he can find me. He put it right on my head” said Zardes when asked about his goal. “It’s amazing, playing with players such as Gerrard, Dos Santos, Keane. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can each and every day.”

The floodgates opened in the second half. Keane tallied the first of his pair in the 54th minute, when Giovani Dos Santos sent a flawless long ball through to Keane from the right touch line. Keane’s diagonal run onto the ball forced Saunders off his line, and Keane chipped the ball over the charging netminder to double the Galaxy lead.

Keane’s second goal came late, in the 81st minute, when Donovan Ricketts played a long ball out to Sebastien Lleget, who back-heeled it to an overlapping Robbie Rogers. The move left Rogers with acres of space to run at the NYCFC goal, but instead of shooting, he laid the ball across the goal mouth to give Keane the easy tap in.

“He played very well” said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena when asked about Keane’s impressive run of form. “We’re real pleased for Robbie’s performance and the guys who score goals, but it’s all about the team here, and I think that today we continued to see this team grow, and this first eleven that we have get better and better as they play more together.”

Dos Santos, who has been an assist machine for the Galaxy in his first month in Los Angeles, got back into the scoring habit with a crowd pleasing breakaway goal. He beat the offside trap and had a wide open forty yard run in at goal. Once again, Saunders was forced to charge out, and once again, he was beaten when Dos Santos chipped him from the edge of the area.

“I’m getting better” said Dos Santos after the match. “I’m working hard every day, and my teammates, we’re having fun, and that’s good for the team.”

The goal that showed off the Galaxy’s playmaking verve, however, belonged to Sebastian Llegett, who scored off a beautiful six-pass sequence, culminating in a pair of flick-ons, first from Gerrard to Llegett, then from Llegett to the back of the net.

It could have been far worse for NYCFC. The Galaxy rattled off an impressive 23 shots on the day. Keane hit the crossbar early, and Keane and Gerrard combined late to put on a display of unselfishness, tapping the ball back and forth to one another in front of the New York net, each trying to give the other the goal, until finally a NYCFC defender tracked back and was able to break up the play.

“I’ve never been a selfish player” said Gerrard when asked about the lost opportunity to score late in the match. “It’s nice to get goals, and win in style, but the important thing today is always the win.”

While the starts shone bright for the Galaxy once again, it was not the case for the deep-pocketed and openly ambitious NYCFC. Once again, heralded English midfielder Frank Lampard didn’t play due to injury.

Andrea Pirlo did start, and played 75 quiet minutes. The Galaxy were able to easily play over and around Pirlo in the attack, and Pirlo’s NYCFC teammates could do little with the service he attempted to provide.

NYCFC received a small measure of redemption when, in the 79th minute, Dan Gargan pulled down Patrick Mullins inside the Galaxy penalty area and NYCFC was awarded the penalty by referee Baldomero Toledo. Team captain and Spanish international David Villa converted and helped his squad avoid a shutout, but contributed little more on the day.

While NYCFC failed to live up to it’s half of the billing of “highest profile match of the MLS,” the game still provided the atmosphere MLS hopes will become the norm in the coming decade.  The match has been sold out for almost two weeks, and the 27,000 in attendance sported a kaleidoscope of international, Liga MX, English Premier League, as well as MLS jerseys.  The crowd was boisterous, the stadium was jam-packed, and global media was in the house.

“I do remember, I coached in the opening game of this league in 1996, and we’ve come light years.” said Arena when asked to comment on the big-game atmosphere. “I think this is eventually going to become the norm in this league, not only here but in all the venues around the league. If anything, today, I think it tells about the growth of this league and the kind of support we’re getting in the markets. It’s phenomenal.”

NYCFC continues its battle for a playoff spot with a home game against Eastern Conference rival Columbus at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

The Galaxy will take their star-studded juggernaut on the road, and face arch-rival San Jose in this season’s final installment of the California Clasico on Friday night.