The last time the Galaxy played in the MLS Western Conference finals, Gabriel Pec was in elementary school, Joseph Paintsil was in high school and Riqui Puig had just joined Barcelona’s academy system.

It’s been a while.

But with all three players contributing to the scoring on Sunday, the Galaxy found their way back to the conference championship game for the first time in a decade with a 6-2 victory over Minnesota United in front of a sellout crowd of 26,192 at Dignity Health Sports Park. They meet the Seattle Sounders on Saturday in Carson, where the Galaxy are undefeated in 18 MLS games. The winner of that game will host the MLS Cup final on December 7.

However, the Galaxy have not only returned to the last four of the play-offs, they have plundered and rampaged there, destroying everyone in their path and scoring 15 goals in three play-off wins in which they have never trailed . The goals on Sunday came from the usual suspects, with Pec, Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic all scoring goals in each half.

If they aren’t the best team in MLS, they are certainly the best team left.

Pec started the rout 27 seconds after kickoff, running onto Puig’s long, deflecting ball from the center circle, battling defender Jefferson Diaz for control in the box and then beating Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair with a left-footed shot. to the distant post.

It was the fastest playoff goal in franchise history.

Diaz helped him get that back less than five minutes later, threading a pass through four Galaxy defenders to Kelvin Yeboah just outside the box. Yeboah then dribbled into the area before firing a left-footed shot around Maya Yoshida and under the crossbar to tie the game.

The Galaxy went in front and stayed in the 18th minute, and Pec was in the thick of it again, drawing a foul outside the penalty area on the right wing. That led to a free kick that Marco Reus deflected in the box for Joveljic, who outwitted four Minnesota defenders and nodded the ball past St. Clair for a 2-1 lead.

Pec, who led the Galaxy in scoring and led court players in minutes played during the regular season, has taken his game to another level in the playoffs. He was so active on Sunday, pressing the attack and then sprinting back into defence, that his white Galaxy kit was covered in green spots midway through the first half, partially obscuring the number 11 on his back.

The Galaxy extended their lead just before the break when Miki Yamane’s cross from the right missed Joveljic in front of goal but found Paintsil on the left side of the six-yard box. He once made it 3-1 with a left-footed shot.

Yeboah halved the deficit after a penalty in stoppage time of the first half. Galaxy keeper John McCarthy smothered Yeboah’s first attempt, but referee Rosendo Mendoza ruled that McCarthy had left his line early and gave Yeboah a second chance, which he buried.

The two goals matched the most the Galaxy have allowed in seven games and the most they have allowed at home since April. But Minnesota would get no closer as Pec doubled the lead in the 50th minute, creating a broken field from 75 yards down the right before firing a soft shot off the underside of the left post and pushed in by Minnesota. defenseman Michael Boxall.

With the outcome already decided, Paintsil and Joveljic closed the scoring with goals in the 87th and 89th minutes. And the Galaxy could have had more with St. Clair’s penalty save in the 78th minute to deny Pec a hat-trick. As it stood, the six goals were the most for the Galaxy against an MLS team since September 2019.

But the domination was far more complete on the pitch than on the scoreboard, with the Galaxy controlling the ball for more than an hour of the 90 minutes, taking almost three times as many passes as Minnesota and completing more than 92% of them. .

Minnesota ended its season with just 10 men on the field after Diaz drew his second yellow card of the evening for a foul on Pec and was sent off in the 82nd minute.