CONCACAF Champions League: Los Angeles Galaxy Dominate Alajuelense 2-0

In all honesty, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy could have played down to eight men, and it would not have made any difference on the outcome. It would have been the same old story.

They may have gone down to 10 men late, but the damage had already been done, as goals from Omar Gonzalez in the 38th minute and Chad Barrett in the 77th minute of play silenced Oscar Ramirez's Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, 2-0 on Thursday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

“I think we played well tonight," Arena told the press. "Not an easy game, a good opponent, different kind of game probably than we are used to...I think overall we are real pleased with the win. This is going to be a tough competition until the end.”

With the victory, the Galaxy sit on top of Group A in the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League with a full six points (2-0-0) and a +4 goal differential.

What probably killed Ramirez's club on Thursday was the bevy of offsides calls that went against them. Just about every time the midfielders were about to make a run, the flag was raised. A notable example came in the 64th minute, when Alajuelense captain Pablo Antonio Gabas's would-be equalizer was called back.

Alajuelense were called offsides eight times, and each and every one of those calls hurt their chances to make an impact.

Even worse for the visitors, La Liga's shooting was difficult to watch for long stretches of the game. They had more shots on goal (14 to six), but nine were off target. In comparison, half of the Galaxy's attempts were on target, and two of those three happened to play a role in the final outcome.

Nevermind that Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders was just being Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders. After all, the backup-turned-starter made six saves on the likes of Juan Guzman, Allen Guevara and Gabas.

Gabas put in a valiant attempt in trying to solve the Puerto Rican international and had three good looks on goal. All were saved.

As you should know, the reason I argue the Galaxy were playing 10/11 on 15 was that Marco Antonio Rodriguez was being his one-sided self on the pitch.

Rodriguez, nicknamed "Dracula" for his resemblance to the Bram Stoker brainchild of legend, issued yellow cards to Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Mike Magee and a red card to Juninho, who may have had the worse game of all the players out there.

This might surprise some of you, but I actually agree with the yellow cards issued to Beckham and Magee. In the 31st minute, I don't understand what Beckham was thinking complaining about where the ball should be kicked. Note to self, Mr. Spice Boy: what Dracula says, goes. Fighting the call is not smart, because Dracula is Dracula.

Up until the 77th minute, I thought the world of Magee, but it was an easy call for Rodriguez. Throwing the ball aside nonchalantly in protest of a call is never a good idea. The card on Donovan was ticky-tack at best, but a professional challenge is a professional challenge—one the captain was willing to take on the chin.

But Juninho...he clearly did not have a good night. Unable to hold on to the ball, unable to mark his player, and unable to do much to the cause, the young Brazilian took his frustrations out on La Liga's Christopher Meneses. It was a well-deserved red, and a fitting conclusion to what had been a sorry night for the midfielder on loan from Sao Paulo.

Beckham made up for his yellow card with his only successful swing of the set piece slot machine, and Gonzalez climbed the ladder to notch his first-ever Champions League goal. Perfectly drawn up, well-placed, and the assist was Beckham's 13th in all competitions this year, tying him with Houston's Brad Davis.

"We said it at the start of our group, we need to win our home games," Beckham said. "Tonight was a tough game. They played well, you know they have some good players, but we put our chances away. It was a good night for us.”

Los Angeles had seven corners for the match, compared with just one for Alajuelense.

(Yes, I can mention the latter, because Houston ain't competin' in this here CONCACAF Champions League.)

No sooner had Rodriguez pulled out the yellow for Magee than Beckham started up a sequence that delivered the nail in the coffin. Through ball to Franklin, back pass to Robbie Keane (more on him in a bit), and a dummy to—speak of the devil—Chad Barrett.

Welcome back, Chad. Where has your scoring touch been since the middle of the 2011 Major League Soccer season?

“My knee feels completely normal again," Barrett told reporters. "And that’s what you want, you want to tap for a goal in your first game back, it couldn’t have worked out better [for] me. But you know, it was just good to play with the guys again and that’s really what I wanted to do...it was an insurance goal. It was good.”

Barrett's dagger was a long time coming, a few months in the making. And there goes a lot of weight off his shoulders, at least for the time being.

The thing I can take from Keane's work on Thursday was that he got a full 90 minutes of work before getting subbed off in grand fashion by Chris Birchall.

Granted, the Alajuelense backline of Jhonny Acosta, Jose Salvatierra, Giancarlo Gonzalez and Meneses were successful neutralizing the Irishman's chances on goal, forcing Keane to shoot from difficult angles, but the important thing is that he now understands the level of play the CONCACAF Champions League offers.

“Getting better and better. More and more comfortable," Donovan said of Keane's effort. "The guys now understand where he is playing, how he moves on the field and I thought he was excellent tonight. His movement was great. He was a menace consistently in front of the goal and I only think he’s going to get better.”

The Galaxy will need to improve on their finishing. One notable wasted chance came in the 11th minute, when Adam Cristman's header from Keane careened over the crossbar. In spite of the lackluster finishing from Cristman, he did what he does best: hold the ball.

Let's all spare a thought for Gregg Berhalter, shall we? Just 27 minutes in, Berhalter suffered a broken foot and could be sidelined for the rest of the season.

“I just stepped down, no one was near me, I stepped and I felt something pop in my foot so we'll see," Berhalter said of the injury. "It might not be that bad. Who knows? We will get the information tomorrow and we will go from there.”

Cross your fingers...

“We don’t really know what it is right now, but I’m worried because he’s been a solid force back there with me and I like playing with him back there," defender Omar Gonzalez said of the injury. "We’re still in the middle of finding out what it is, and hopefully he’s all right, but if he’s not I’m sure somebody we’ll step up to take his spot.”

And that somebody could be Sean Franklin. The 2011 MLS All-Star on defense will probably now have an increased role in marking the opposing attacks with A.J. DeLaGarza, Gonzalez and Todd Dunivant. Tough way to leave a game like this so soon for Berhalter.

In conclusion, this was a Thursday night heavyweight fight from start to finish at the battleground that is Victoria Street. The best club in MLS vs. the best club from the Primera Division de Costa Rica. And just like in national team play, the States prevailed.

What we wouldn't give for an encore. Alas, we will have to wait until Sept. 21.

In the meantime...bring on Morelia.

The Los Angeles Galaxy's match with Monarcas Morelia will take place on Sept. 13 at Estadio Morelos in Morelia, Mexico. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.