It couldn't get much easier for Mexican star Giovani dos Santos in his debut for the Galaxy.



He stood outside the six-yard box on the left side of the attacking half, not a single defender near him. The pass came in from Rafael Garcia, rolling slowly on the ground. He had time to set himself up for a one-time, left-footed shot. From such close range, the goalkeeper had no chance.



Only 19 minutes after entering the game Thursday, he had his first goal for the Galaxy, which went on to a 5-1 victory over Central FC at StubHub Center in the first match of the CONCACAF Champions League.



His shot, in the 76th minute, was not a blast. It didn't leave the ground. But it was perfectly placed, striking the far goal post before slotting nicely into the back of the net. The crowd of 13,625 at StubHub Center exploded with its loudest cheers of the night. The Galaxy was up, 4-1. More important, Dos Santos gave the Galaxy a hint of why he is worthy of the hype surrounding his arrival.



Before Dos Santos scored or even entered the game, the result seemed all but assured for the Galaxy, which dominated, an encouraging start to the tournament that team President Chris Klein said was a major goal of the squad.