The Dynamo recorded a 3-0 road win over the Galaxy on May 22. Houston has recorded multiple wins over LA in a single season just twice in club’s history, doing so in 2006 and 2018, with the second win in 2018 coming on the final day of the season, knocking the Galaxy out of the playoffs.
The Dynamo’s 2-1 win at Nashville on Sunday was the third win in their last six games (D1 L2). Houston had recorded just four victories in its previous 21 games (D3 L14) from mid-April through late August.
The Galaxy clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2019 with a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake on Saturday. Los Angeles reached the postseason on the back of a run of just one loss in its last 10 matches (W4 D5) that followed a spell of six losses in eight games.
Sebastian Ferreira scored his team-leading 11th and 12th goals of the season in Houston’s 2-1 win over Nashville on Sunday. Only one Paraguayan has ever scored more goals in a single MLS season than Ferreira’s 12 this year: Hector Villaba (13) for Atlanta United in 2017.
The Galaxy equaled a pair of penalty records on Saturday against Real Salt Lake, winning two penalties in a match for the third time this season, equaling the most in a single season in league history (Atlanta in 2018 and Portland in 2016). LA missed one of those two, its fifth missed penalty of the season, equaling the Fire and Mutiny in 2000 for the most missed spot kicks in a single regular season.