Hirving Lozano boosted San Diego FC with a stoppage-time winner that sealed a dramatic 2-1 MLS victory over struggling LA Galaxy at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday.

Diego Fagundez put the visitors ahead in the 40th minute with a brilliant curling strike from just inside the box, which narrowly evaded CJ dos Santos’ fingertips after Marco Reus’ smart pass into space.

But the hosts responded immediately with William Kumado and captain Jeppe Tverskov combining to set up Luca de la Torre, who finished through Novak Micovic’s legs just one minute after Fagundez’s opener.

Both sides had squandered good opportunities early on, with Joseph Paintsil sending a dipping shot inches over the bar, while Anibal Godoy missed the target from point-blank range at the other end.

With the match level again, San Diego raced out the blocks in the second half, though they were frustrated by a resolute Galaxy defence.

Paintsil mishit a lob over Dos Santos just before the hour mark, while Lozano struck the side netting 10 minutes later as the hosts continued to be held back.

San Diego pushed hard for a late winner, and it looked as though LA would hold firm, but Lozano snatched all three points with a last-gasp header from Anders Dreyer’s clever cross in the fifth minute of added time.

The win pushes San Diego FC up to second in the Western Conference standings with 27 points, four behind Vancouver Whitecaps, while last year's MLS winners LA Galaxy remain rooted to the bottom of the table with just four points from 15 games.

In Saturday's other early MLS match, a late penalty from Albert Rusnak gave Seattle Sounders a 1-0 win over FC Dallas. 

Data debrief: San Diego extend historic run of form

The hosts' victory came very late, but they did end Saturday’s contest with an expected goals (xG) value of 1.48, comfortably trumping LA Galaxy’s 0.75 xG.

San Diego are now undefeated in their last five games in MLS action – their longest unbeaten streak in the competition.

After going behind to Fagundez’s strike, the hosts responded strongly and they have now earned seven points from losing positions this season, with only Dallas (12) and Columbus Crew (12) having recovered more.