The Galaxy needed a regulation victory and win by at least two goals to qualify for the knockout-round quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup.

Mission accomplished.

Joseph Paintsil scored in the first minute and Matheus Nascimento tallied in the 39th minute to spark a 4-0 victory against overmatched Santos Laguna of Liga MX on Thursday night at Dignity Healthy Sports Park.

The Galaxy, which have endured a nightmarish season in MLS, played like a different team, setting the tempo early with Paintsil tucking in the ball at the right post thanks to an assist by Mauricio Cuevas.

The Galaxy struck again when a sliding Nascimento tapped in the ball past goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo off a long cross from Cuevas to make it 2-0.

In the 45th minute, Choco Lozano was shown his second yellow card to leave Santos Laguna short-handed.

Defender Maya Yoshida then added a goal during injury time to give the Galaxy a 3-0 advantage at the half. Yoshida collected a rebound after a long shot by Paintsil and buried it.

At the end of the first half, midfielder Ramiro Sordo was also shown a red card and Santos Laguna was left with nine players to open the second half.

Substitute Lucas Sanabria scored in the second half off a nice feed from Yoshida in the 74th minute for the Galaxy’s final goal.

The victory moved the Galaxy from the fifth seed among the MLS standings to the third seed, passing the Portland Timbers and No. 4 seed Orlando City.

The Leagues Cup quarterfinals — comprised of four MLS teams and four Liga MX teams — will be held Aug. 19-20. The Galaxy will take on Pachuca in the quarterfinal.