The New York Red Bulls showed no mercy as they humbled cross-town rivals New York City 4-0 in the Hudson River Derby, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy slumped to a third consecutive defeat.
The Red Bulls used a blistering start to claim bragging rights against their local rival, two goals inside the opening four minutes inspiring a crushing victory in Harrison, New Jersey on Saturday.
Alejandro "Kaku" Romero put the Red Bulls ahead in the second minute and Florian Valot doubled the lead two minutes later at Red Bull Arena.
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New York City, which was top of the east before kickoff, was unable to cope with the Red Bulls' energy – Bradley Wright-Phillips adding a third for the home side10 minutes before halftime.
Derrick Etienne Jr came off the bench and sealed the emphatic victory 11 minutes from the end as the Red Bulls enjoyed another rout of NYC, which was thrashed 7-0 in 2016.
The drubbing saw NYC drop down to second, two points adrift of Atlanta United, which took a 2-1 win in Chicago against the Fire.
The Houston Dynamo scored a 90th-minute winner as they topped the free-falling Galaxy 3-2 on Saturday.
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Ibrahimovic's Galaxy thought they had earned a point when Ola Kamara equalized with five minutes remaining but Jose Rodriguez's last-gasp winner condemned the visitors to their fourth loss in five games.
Giovani dos Santos had canceled out Alejandro Fuenmayor's second-minute opener by rebounding Ibrahimovic's saved shot in the first half, only for Romell Quioto to restore Houston's lead two minutes after the break.
The Galaxy rallied again late in the match but the Dynamo were not to be denied on home soil.
THE KID! @40_jrod ! #HOUvLA https://t.co/Jy16qcDRas
— Houston Dynamo (@HoustonDynamo) May 6, 2018
Western Conference leader Sporting Kansas City edged the Colorado Rapids 1-0, while Los Angeles FC was held to a 1-1 draw by Dallas.
Elsewhere, four goals in 23 minutes saw the Montreal Impact to a 4-2 victory against the New England Revolution, Minnesota United beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0, the Seattle Sounders drew 1-1 with the Columbus Crew and the Portland Timbers claimed a late 1-0 win at San Jose Earthquakes.