Saturday’s game was special for one Sporting KC player. It was frustrating for the coach

The 2025 season has been tumultuous for Sporting Kansas City. Saturday night’s game against the last-place Los Angeles Galaxy could have been an opportunity for positive momentum to end the year.

But it was just more of the same. Joseph Paintsil notched a hat trick in the game’s first 43 minutes, and Sporting was easily carved up by the Galaxy time and time again.

The final score? A 4-1 margin, with Sporting’s goal courtesy of Dejan Joveljic. It was his 18th goal of the 2025 season.

It wasn’t nearly enough.

“We were just too soft and weak and vulnerable defensively,” SKC interim coach Kerry Zavagnin said. “Which has been most of our issues this year. But again, tonight, certainly that was the reason for the result.”

Sporting’s back line consisted of the same lineup as last week’s 2-0 loss to Vancouver. The Galaxy repeatedly got behind that group, and used the same patterns of play to get the same type of chances.

“No matter what formation we’re putting in — whether we put a defensive midfielder in there to help protect that space or double pivot (two defensive midfielders) — it doesn’t seem to be working,” Zavagnin said. “It doesn’t work. It’s time and time again you have balls that are played behind our outside backs. And then as we lose a center back trying to cover the space, we don’t cover the important spaces.

“We’ve been trying to get better at that all year. But unfortunately, it’s one of the big issues within our team.”

And it cost SKC yet again.

Sporting fell behind early. In fact, no team in Major League Soccer has allowed more goals (13) in the first 15 minutes of a game than Sporting KC.

Paintsil’s first goal came just three minutes in, and it was a mopped-up loose ball from a deflected cross. The play began with a short corner kick routine. Sporting KC reacted late, and Zorhan Bassong kept everyone onside by failing to step forward on the initial pass back into the box.

The next two goals from Paintsil came in the 25th and 43rd minutes. Both were from similar actions, where Paintsil tapped in a cut-back pass that nobody on Sporting’s back line anticipated.

Sandwiched between those two goals, Mason Toye and Joveljic teamed up for Sporting’s lone goal of the night. Toye received the ball in the box before turning and playing a pass back to the former Galaxy man himself.

Joveljic curled a low shot inside the near post and into the net. His 18th goal of the season brought him level with Preki for the second most in a season in Sporting KC history. He has two more games to break Preki’s mark.

Sporting’s star striker received his MLS Cup championship ring from the Galaxy on the field before warmups.

The second half was less eventful. Sporting KC came out flying but the Galaxy got its fourth goal in the 60th minute to ice things. Paintsil played provider as Diego Fagundez put the game well out of reach.

There was one more highlight — or lowlight — to come.

Shapi Suleymanov picked up a straight red card in the dying minutes of the game. While he certainly fouled Galaxy defender Carlos Garces — and was deserving of a card — the foul appeared even worse due to Garces kicking the ball long in the process.

VAR did not overturn the call.

Up next: Sporting KC travels north to Minnesota next week for the final road match of the season. That match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Central.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.

This story was originally published September 28, 2025 at 12:19 AM.