Two trademark Beckham set pieces led to two LA Galaxy goals inside the opening 10 minutes, but teenager Jozy Altidore,only 17 years of age, stole much of the show as the Red Bulls scored a dramatic late winner to top the Los Angeles Galaxy 5-4.

It was exactly the sort of game the league wanted to showcase its product in the biggest market.

"The public will buy into this," Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena said. "I'm not sure (Galaxy coach) Frank Yallop or I want to buy into it. If you talked to us behind closed doors we'd tell you we had a lot of breakdowns out there."

Beckham set up Carlos Pavon twice as the Galaxy cancelled out Juan Pablo Angel's early goal to take the lead.

But Altidore then helped set up Clint Mathis before scoring twice himself to put New York in the clear before Landon Donovan responded.

The game appeared headed for a tie until Mathis struck a long-range shot which Joe Cannon could only parry, and Angel popped up to finish from a tight angle.

The opening stages had belonged to Beckham.

All too aware of the threat posed by superstar, Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena had spoken about a need to limit the Galaxy's set-piece opportunities going into the game. His players did not listen.

Two Beckham set-pieces led to two Galaxy goals in the space of five minutes.

The first came in the sixth minute when Beckham whipped in a corner directly on to the head of Pavon, who placed it in the far corner.

The same pair linked up again two minutes later, Beckham's deep free-kick looping over a crowd of players to find Pavon all alone at the far post. Ronald Waterreus got a hand to the ball but could not stop it.

"I've not been involved in a game like that since I was about 9-10 years old," Beckham said.

"When there are so many goals it changes so fast. It's great for the fans who've come to the stadium. For us its disappointing, I thought we created enough chances."

Pavon thrived on Beckham's deliveries and might have scored more.

"Scoring the two goals off Beckham's free-kicks was good and we're starting to get to know each other," he said. "Once we keep playing more and understanding where he has to find me on and where I have to be on his free kicks and passes we can begin to understand each other better."

The Red Bulls defence had no answer to Beckham. Alan Gordon should have made it three when Beckham picked him out with yet another trademark free-kick, but instead shot straight at Waterreus.

Beckham was involved in everything, and came up limping after a crunching challenge in the fifth minute. Another rough tackle moments later from Dave Van den Bergh led to a scuffle but Beckham played on without treatment.

A crowd of 66,237 watched on as the class of the England midfielder stood out a mile. A long ball sent Donovan clear, but he wasted the chance shooting wide after rounding Waterreus.

Arena backed the Galaxy to find their rhythm before the end of the season given the talent in their ranks.

"For David Beckham to be playing at, I want to put a number on it, 60-70 percent, and Landon Donovan, who in my view continues to be the best American soccer player, they were a handful," he said.

The night had started badly for the Galaxy when Angel gave the Red Bulls the lead in only the fourth minute.

The Colombian scored with a fine free-kick, totally fooling the defensive wall. As they jumped, he stroked the ball underneath them to find the bottom corner of the net.

Altidore had won the free-kick by beating Ty Harden for pace. The teenager was clearly out to impress the bumper crowd and his pace was a constant threat to the Galaxy.

In the 44th minute he broke clear of the defense to latch onto a Van den Bergh cross but headed straight at Cannon.

A minute later he inspired the Red Bulls equaliser. Faced with three defenders inside the area, he wriggled his way through to shoot from a tight angle. The ball was deflected, but bounced up for Mathis to fire home an unstoppable volley.

Altidore then got himself among the goals just four minutes into the second half. Mathis' through ball picked out his run and the teenager slotted the ball under Cannon to put New York back in front.

Altidore added his second, and New York's fourth, in the 70th minute when he cut inside from the left wing to beat two defenders and score from the 18 yards.

"The goals speak for themselves," Arena said of his young protege. "He's a dangerous player. What I like about him is that he is a young kid that has a lot of confidence.

"He's a kid that is going to be 18 years old in November and he is starting to show that he is a player with a lot of potential."