The Fourth of July matchup at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles FC was a celebration of more than just the national holiday.
The Tuesday game, a 2-1 Galaxy win, drew a sellout crowd of 82,110, breaking the record for MLS single-game attendance.
Attendance record: broken.
You love to see it. pic.twitter.com/onBEV1KGgT
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 5, 2023
The previous record of 74,479 was set at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., at the first-ever home game of Charlotte FC on March 5, 2022.
The Independence Day event is the latest installment of the “El Trafico” rivalry, which the Galaxy led with an 9-6-5 record in all matchups.
It was the first time the two Los Angeles soccer teams faced each other at the Rose Bowl. The Galaxy are used to playing in their home stadium, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., which has a capacity of 27,000.
“When you have 80,000 people and the energy in that type of stadium is around you … it comes with the sense of something much bigger than maybe just a normal match day,” Galaxy head coach and sporting director Greg Vanney said on Monday.
Even with the victory, the Galaxy are looking up in the standings, sitting 13th out of 14 teams in the Western Conference with a record of 4-9-7 (19 points).
LAFC — who won their first MLS Cup in December — reside in third place in the conference at 9-6-5 (32 points). They reached the final of the CONCACAF Champions League this year.
–Field Level Media