The Los Angeles Galaxy were frustrated after being held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup first-round tie against Sporting San Miguelito.

Despite their dominance, Joseph Paintsil's second-half equaliser could not spark a turnaround for the Galaxy, with a place in the last 16 still all to play for in next week's second leg at Dignity Health Sports Park.

The MLS side were left wondering how they did not take the lead after firing off five shots in the space of 10 seconds in the 14th minute.

Paintsil drove inside past three defenders and forced a save from Jose Calderon, who also denied Matheus Nascimento on the follow-up, while Gabriel Pec saw two attempts blocked by defenders before Nascimento fired over the bar.

Miguelito then took the lead, completely against the run of play, when captain Rodrigo Tello made an unmarked run to the back post and headed in from Angel Valencia's pinpoint cross.

After hitting a volley over the target shortly after the break, Paintsil managed to equalise in the 68th minute when Joao Klauss' loose touch fell kindly for the winger, who composed himself before finding the bottom-right corner.

First step of our @thechampions journey ends in a draw pic.twitter.com/wsuwlzUrdT

— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) February 20, 2026

Data Debrief: Chances squandered for the Galaxy

The Galaxy were clearly the stronger side, recording 18 shots and 2.12 expected goals (xG) from their 68.3% possession to Miguelito's 0.32 from five attempts at Estadio Universitario.

Pec was responsible for 1.05 of his side's xG, the most of any player, while he also registered the most shots (seven), shots in the box (six) and touches in the box (11) in the match.

And their dominance was highlighted by Maya Yoshida's performance, with the centre-back recording the most touches (136) in the match and completing 129 of his 131 passes (98.5%) while not attempting a single tackle and competing in just two duels.