The win gave the MLS side third place in the tournament with Sydney finishing fourth. Both Houston Dynamo and Gamba Osaka were playing off for first spot at time of writing.

Galaxy were clearly a different side to when Sydney last played them last November. Then, they looked jaded and lacking intensity.

Tonight at the Aloha stadium, they looked sharp, inventive and in Beckham – playing in a free role across the midfield – they had the orchestrator of much of their cutting edge for the likes of the pacy Bryan Jordan.

For Sydney, goalscorer Renaud had an outstanding game as an attacking left back while rookie right back Ryan Walsh showed plenty of promise while Iain Fyfe was his usual sound in the centre of defence.

And despite his mistake gifting LA their second goal, keeper Ivan Necevski was solid between the sticks.

In fact, Sydney could've drawn this game had the US referee given what it appeared to be a clear cut penalty to Adam Biddle late in the game.

In the end, a vastly improved performance by the MLS side was enough to save it from being fourth in the tournament. As Sydney's Iain Fyfe told au.fourfourtwo.com after the game, the tournament has been a valuable exercise.

“It's good that some of our young lads have been given experience. It was always going to be difficult playing at the end of the season and without a few of our main players.

“We have to use this tournament to help us build for next season. We have to win the grand final next season, we cannot be a club that wins it every five years. With Bridge [Mark] and Colosimo [Simon] coming in, this is a good start.”

As for the Renaud super-goal, Fyfe joked: “We'll never hear the end of it!”