Galaxy opens Leagues Cup play at San Jose

The Galaxy went into the Leagues Cup break with a win against the Portland Timbers on July 20.

On Wednesday, the team returns to action with its first game in this year’s Leagues Cup tournament against a familiar rival, traveling to San Jose to take on the Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m.

The Galaxy and Earthquakes have met three times this season, with the Galaxy winning all three. The Galaxy has outscored the Earthquakes by a combined score of 10-4.

“It’s an important event for us,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said of Leagues Cup. “We’re going to try to balance a couple of things, which is get our guys back, who have been out, try to use our roster a bit. Just to get through this tournament, the games are every 3-4 days. You have to use everybody and we have to get some guys going, like Emiro (Garces), more minutes for him, getting guys reintegrated who are coming back (from injury) and being mindful of guys who have played a lot of minutes (this season).”

The Galaxy is in Group B with San Jose and Chivas de Guadalajara. In the opening game, San Jose and Chivas played to a 1-1 draw, but the Earthquakes won the penalty kick shootout to earn two points. The Galaxy will face Chivas on Sunday.

The big issue for the Galaxy could be a feeling of complacency, considering how easily they’ve handled the Earthquakes this season.

“It’s a tournament and there’s a trophy at the end of it,” Galaxy midfielder Mark Delgado said. “That’s the exciting part. You just have to see that as the end goal, lifting that trophy. We’ve faced them three times, but now there’s a trophy at the end of these next few games, so there’s definitely something on the line.”

San Jose had a crowd of 50,675 on Saturday in their shootout win over Chivas at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Wednesday’s game will be at PayPal Park, which has a capacity of 18,000.

“Every time you have to go away and beat a team again, it becomes more and more difficult each time,” Vanney said. “Against Chivas, they looked very motivated. I thought their emotional energy was high, they were very competitive, out pressing and making the game very difficult for Chivas. We know what their capacity is and what they’re capable of, so it’s important that we have to match the intensity of the game.”

Perez loaned to Nashville SC

The Galaxy has loaned Jonathan Perez to Nashville SC for up to 18 months.

A product of the Galaxy Academy system before signing as a Homegrown Player, Perez had his contract renewed last season through 2026 with an option for 2027.

The Galaxy has the right to recall Perez from the loan in the summer of 2025, but Nashville SC holds an option to permanently buy his rights.

“I think it’s a big opportunity for him,” Vanney said. “There’s two really big pieces. One is the playing time. I think he goes there and I think they’re looking for somebody to come over and play a significant role, that’s something Johnny’s ready for. He needs to step in. He’s had good minutes for us. He needs to stay healthy and he showed that’s he capable of playing at the MLS level. He just needs that experience and this allows that. I hope he goes there and he shows them what he’s capable of doing and he earns their trust right away.”

LEAGUES CUP: GALAXY at SAN JOSE

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: PayPal Park; San Jose

How to watch: Apple TV (free)