This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Carson, Calif. • Alas, a blemish. It's hefty-sized one.

Real Salt Lake's six-game unbeaten start to 2016, one that turned heads around Major League Soccer, came to a familiar end against a familiar opponent Saturday night in Southern California. The L.A. Galaxy thumped RSL 5-2 at the StubHub Center, handing RSL its first loss of the season in emphatic fashion.

Including postseason play, L.A. has now beaten RSL six out of their past seven meetings in Carson.

The Galaxy, minus star forward Robbie Keane (knee surgery) and midfield patroller Nigel de Jong (suspension), displayed why they're leading the pack when it comes to being the deepest team in MLS. Offseason acquisitions Mike Magee and Emmanuel Boateng scored first-half goals. As did high-profile attackers Gyasi Zardes and Giovani Dos Santos.

"L.A. was good tonight — very good," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "They were firing on all cylinders."

It was the fourth goal of the first half — a memorable one by Dos Santos — which properly summed up RSL's regrettable evening in one brilliant move. Already backpedaling in the box, Dos Santos lofted a perfectly weighted chip to the far post beyond a fully extended Nick Rimando.

And RSL was under it from the start.

Rimando, making his 400th career regular-season start, saved a Steven Gerrard penalty kick in the sixth minute. Despite not conceding from the penalty and Dos Santos later hitting the post, Burrito Martinez put RSL up 1-0 in the 16th minute with a header off a cross by Luke Mulholland. Martinez skied above Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza, spinning the header into the near post with the back of his head — his second goal in as many matches.

The goal ended a 296-minute scoreless streak at the StubHub Center. But RSL's lead was short-lived.

Three minutes later, Zardes evaded three RSL defenders and finished a fantastic shot to the far post. Already minus star Joao Plata (hip flexor strain), Martinez was forced off in the 23rd minute with a right quadriceps strain.

The match fell apart from there.

Magee put L.A. up 2-1 in the 26th minute by redirecting a Boateng cross into the net. Boateng, a thorn in the side of the RSL back line all night, added to the lead in the 41st minute by running unmarked through the center of the RSL defense and poking a loose ball by Rimando.

"They were playing through us and we weren't dealing with it well enough," RSL left back Chris Wingert said, "and it cost us."

Javier Morales pulled one back for RSL in the 71st minute from the penalty spot. Yura Movsisyan was dragged down by L.A. defender Daniel Steres in the box, leaving Morales — who came on as a sub at halftime — to score his first goal of 2016.

Center back Jamison Olave returned to the starting lineup for the first time in over a month, a coach's decision by Jeff Cassar. As evidenced by the scoreline, the partnership between Maund and Olave was rusty. The Galaxy controlled the midfield outright in the first half, allowing free runs by players that eventually punished RSL.

"[L.A.] could play through us, they could play over us, they could play around us and we didn't solve it," Cassar said. "I didn't solve it for [us]. We weren't solving it out there … we got hammered."

Despite missing the penalty early on, Gerrard scored L.A.'s fifth of the evening in the 90th minute, juking Kyle Beckerman and Olave before slipping the fifth goal of the night into the net.

"Not many teams come in here and pick up points," Beckerman said. "They beat us tonight, so we've got to learn from it."

RSL returns home to Rio Tinto Stadium next weekend when it hosts the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, April 30. The home match will be the last for seven weeks as RSL hits the road for a five-game road trip while the field at Rio Tinto is replaced.

Twitter: @chriskamrani —

Storylines

R The Galaxy score four first-half goals in dominating win over RSL.

• Goalkeeper Nick Rimando makes a penalty kick save in the sixth minute of career start No. 400.

• RSL hosts Houston on April 30, the final home game for seven weeks.