CONCACAF Champions Cup: Paintsil scores important away goal for LA Galaxy

Joseph Paintsil began the 2026 season with a goal for LA Galaxy as they played to a 1-1 first leg draw against Panamanian club Sporting San Miguelito in their CONCACAF Champions Cup first round clash.

Joseph Paintsil finds the equalizer! 🌌 pic.twitter.com/26C50EFYMH

— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) February 20, 2026

The Ghanaian reacted quickly to fire in the second half equalizer after a cross deflected through the penalty area in the 68th minute. The Major League Soccer club, playing in their first competitive match of the campaign, fell behind in the first half to a header from Rodrigo Tello Valor.

But for most of the match, the Panamanian hosts were on the defensive. Despite a scrappy performance and the excellent first half goal, eventually the Galaxy’s superior quality in attack paid dividends to achieve a satisfying result.

Paintsil and LA Galaxy eager to forget difficult 2025 season

MLS Cup champions in 2024, Paintsil and his club endured an awful follow-up campaign that saw them fail to make the playoffs. However, they still managed to qualify for the CONCACAF region’s premier club tournament by finishing third place in the Leagues Cup tournament that involves MLS clubs and teams from Mexico’s top flight Liga MX.

Expectations remain high in the Champions Cup as well as the upcoming MLS season, which will kick off this weekend. The Galaxy will begin the regular season on Sunday when they host New York City FC.

Paintsil was forced to carry the attacking unit last season in the absence of star playmaker Riqui Puig, whose knee injury caused him to miss the entire 2025 season as well as the upcoming season due to a setback.

In the Spaniard’s absence, Paintsil produced 15 goals and 5 assists in 34 matches across all competitions last season.