Dejan Joveljic, Riqui Puig both have 2 goals and assist as Galaxy rout Rapids 5-0 in playoff opener

CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Dejan Joveljic and Riqui Puig both had two goals and an assist to propel the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 5-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night in the opener of a best-of-three first-round series.

The second-seeded Galaxy took a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute and held it through halftime on a goal by Joveljic. Puig notched his first postseason assist on Joveljic's second career postseason goal. Joveljic scored once in two appearances and eight minutes of action in the 2022 playoffs. It was Puig's first assist in three postseason appearances — all starts.

John Nelson took a pass from fellow defender Miki Yamane and scored in the 52nd minute for a 2-0 lead. Puig followed with a goal two minutes later and LA cruised from there. Nelson netted his first postseason goal in his first appearance with the Galaxy. Nelson made two starts for FC Dallas in 2020. Yamane, a rookie, had six assists during the regular season. Joveljic picked up his first playoff assist on Puig's netter.

Joveljic polished off his brace with an unassisted goal in the 75th minute. Puig followed with a goal in the 87th minute with an assist from rookie Gabriel Pec to complete the rout.

John McCarthy finished without a save but earned a clean sheet in his first postseason start in goal for the Galaxy. McCarthy's only other playoff appearance came in a start for Inter Miami in 2020.

Zack Steffen saved six shots for the seventh-seeded Rapids in his ninth postseason start. The previous eight came with the Columbus Crew in 2017-18.

Colorado played without Djordje Mihailovic, who is out with an ankle injury.

The series resumes on Friday in Colorado.

AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig (10) celebrates his goal during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round against the Colorado Rapids, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig (10) scores a goal during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round against the Colorado Rapids, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy defender John Nelson (14) celebrates his goal with midfielder Edwin Cerrillo (20) and forward Dejan Joveljić (9) during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round against the Colorado Rapids, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil (28) blocks the shot by Colorado Rapids defender Reggie Cannon (4) during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljić (9) celebrates his goal with forward Joseph Paintsil (28), midfielder Riqui Puig (10), and forward Marco Reus (18) during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday against the Colorado Rapids, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy defender Miki Yamane (2) takes the ball away from Colorado Rapids forward Kimani Stewart-Baynes (27) during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljić, right, and Colorado Rapids defender Andreas Maxsø battle for a header during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Colorado Rapids forward Kévin Cabral, right, and Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Edwin Cerrillo slide for the ball during the second half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljić (9) and Colorado Rapids defender Lalas Abubakar (6) battle for a header during the first half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil (28) shoots as Colorado Rapids forward Kévin Cabral (91) defends during the first half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig (10) dribbles as Colorado Rapids midfielder Oliver Larraz (18) defends during the first half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Colorado Rapids defender Keegan Rosenberry (2) blocks the shot by Los Angeles Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil (28) during the first half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljić (9) celebrates his goal with midfielder Riqui Puig (10) during the first half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round against the Colorado Rapids, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig (10) dribbles the ball as Colorado Rapids defender Andreas Maxsø (5) defends during the first half of the first match of an MLS Cup playoffs opening round, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.

Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region and have imperiled negotiations for a lasting ceasefire. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman for both inbound and outbound traffic, setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran.

The global community has long considered the strait an international passageway, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels going through a route on the Omani side of the strait backed by a United Nations agency.

Iran insists that it alone must govern the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated the claim during a state visit to Iraq on Sunday.

“Any interference in this matter, any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and increase the level of tension, just as over the past two nights we witnessed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz that led to an increase in tension and confrontation,” he said in Baghdad.

The United States and Iran are still debating the terms of an interim peace deal, including shipping arrangements through the strait, removing a U.S. blockade and sanctions and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month, the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to iron out the details.

The strikes threaten to torpedo the deal before it can be finalized. Continued fighting in Lebanon, where an Israeli soldier was killed by Hezbollah fire early Sunday, has also threatened the agreement.

The Kuwaiti military said air defenses intercepted incoming Iranian drones and missiles Sunday morning, just after the U.S. strikes.

Kuwait, which hosts a major U.S. Army base, said it had detected and intercepted two ballistic missiles and there were no reports of injuries or damage.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said the Iranian strikes damaged a residential building near the international airport and no one was killed. The ministry released photos of an 8-story building, with the top floor destroyed, filled with rubble and its windows blown out.

Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, whose base there came under repeated attack during the war. The damaged building on Sunday was not near the fleet's headquarters, in downtown Manama.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry denounced what it called “a dangerous escalation that reveals that what Tehran is doing is not a passing act, nor an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate approach and a systematic pattern of repeated aggression."

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for both attacks.

The latest U.S. strikes came after the U.S. and Iran traded attacks earlier in the weekend.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” on Sunday, following an attack on a ship at sea early Saturday morning. That ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key mediator between Iran and the U.S.

In a social media post, Trump said the U.S. had “struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!” He warned of a point where the U.S. may no longer be able to be reasonable “and will be forced to militarily complete the job.”

“If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The incident follows a similar back-and-forth that occurred just days prior, when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on Thursday, and the U.S. military retaliated with strikes.

Iran has consistently said the ceasefire must include a halt to fighting in Lebanon, where Israel has been battling the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Days after the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran in February, Hezbollah began firing at Israel in solidarity with its Iranian allies. Israel responded with an invasion that has occupied large swaths of southern Lebanon and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Israel has said it will not withdraw its troops until Hezbollah is disarmed.

Last week, Israel and the Lebanese government signed a framework agreement to end the conflict. But their deal did not include Hezbollah or Iran. Hezbollah has criticized the deal and rejected calls to disarm.

On Sunday, Araghchi again said during a visit to Iraq that the U.S. must force Israel to halt attacks and withdraw. Israel occupies around 600 square kilometers (231 square miles) in southern Lebanon, which it says it needs as a security buffer to halt attacks from Hezbollah.

But sporadic clashes have continued between Israel and Hezbollah.

The leader of the Iran-backed group said Saturday that Hezbollah would continue fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon, adding that the group considers the Israeli-Lebanese agreement signed on Friday to be “nonexistent.”

The frequency of Israeli strikes in Lebanon has decreased significantly since the Iran-U.S. deal was signed in mid-June, but strikes have continued, killing at least one person Saturday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Two separate Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon on Sunday morning — one in the town of Taybeh and another in the Nabatiyeh area, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Overnight, Hezbollah militants killed an Israeli soldier in the village of Deir Siryan in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah did not comment on the incident.

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa share a word after their meeting, at Al-Sakhir Palace near Zallaq, Bahrain Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Eric Lee/Pool Photo via AP)