The Los Angeles Galaxy have moved within a point of the summit in the Western Conference after beating the Portland Timbers 5-0 at the StubHub Center.
As the city prepares for the arrival of Steven Gerrard next month, the defending champions continue their bid for another title, and a fast start soon made life difficult for the Timbers.
The deadlock was broken inside 13 minutes when Sebastian Lletget sprinted past a couple of tame challenges before firing home his fourth goal in the last four games.
Lletget played a key role in the second goal when his pace caused problems for Maximiliano Urruti, who was unable to avoid giving away the penalty.
Reigning MVP Robbie Keane stepped up from 12 yards to slot home as the Galaxy took full control of the match.
Keane then became the provider for Galaxy's third of the evening as his through-ball found Robbie Rogers, who curled past a helpless Adam Kwarasey.
Timber started the second half brightly as they looked to produce a fightback, with Diego Valeri coming close to heading in from a Rodney Wallace cross before Liam Ridgewell headed wide of the post from a promising position.
After surviving long spells of Portland pressure the Galaxy managed to extend their lead when Keane created space in the box before squaring the ball to give Juninho the easy task of tapping home from close range.
A disappointing night for the visitors was summed up when Ridgewell picked up a red card for kicking out at Galaxy forward Alan Gordon, before the home side added a fifth late on when Jose Villarreal picked out the bottom corner from his free kick.
The win moves Galaxy up to third spot in the Western Conference, ahead of the Timbers and just one point behind the Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Callum Mulvihill
