Ghanaian Joseph Paintsil had a magical night with the LA Galaxy , scoring a first-half hat trick and assisting in a 4-1 rout of Sporting Kansas City , earning him the MLS Player of the Week presented by Michelob Ultra (Matchdays 36 and 37 of the 2025 season).
Paintsil became just the third player in Galaxy history to score three goals in a first half, joining legends like Robbie Keane (2013) and Alejandro Moreno (2004) . It was his first league hat trick and the 28th in club regular-season history.
This is how the goals came
Joseph Paintsil with his first MLS hat trick in the first half of https://twitter.com/LAGalaxy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw @LAGalaxy's win over Sporting KC 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/zG2UOxsSAc
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) https://twitter.com/MLS/status/1972330459729387870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw September 28, 2025
- Minute 4: He took advantage of a ball in the area after a corner and finished with class to make it 1-0.
- Minute 25: He grabbed a rebound inside the box to extend the lead.
- Minute 43: He received a pass from Mauricio Cuevas and scored his hat trick.
- Minute 60: He crowned his performance with an assist on Diego Fagúndez ‘s goal.
In total, Paintsil has nine goals and five assists in the 2025 season , despite having missed several games due to injury.
An award with an African stamp
This is the first time Paintsil has received MLS Player of the Week honors. He is also the first Ghanaian to achieve this honor since David Accam won the title in 2019 with the Philadelphia Union.
With this distinction, he joins his teammate Marco Reus (Matchday 14) as the two Galaxy players honored this year.
What’s next for LA Galaxy
The celebration doesn’t end here. The Galaxy will have a chance to lift a title when they face Liga MX champion Toluca in the 2025 Michelob Ultra Campeones Cup . The matchup will be played this Wednesday, October 1, at Dignity Health Sports Park (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
It will be a high-voltage clash that will pit the best of the MLS Cup against the Mexican champion.
