Galaxy get off to an unreal start

The Galaxy unveiled its 2011 championship banner to considerable fanfare before a sellout crowed Saturday at Home Depot Center. Given the way the team played in the game that followed, it may be a while before it gets a chance to celebrate another title.

Sloppy on defense for much of the night, the Galaxy completely unraveled late in the second half, allowing Real Salt Lake to rally from a one-goal deficit to a 3-1 win in the Major League Soccer season opener for both teams.

The Galaxy boasted the league’s best defense last year, giving up less than a goal a game. Saturday it yielded three in the span of just 12 minutes. The last time the Galaxy gave up more than that? Last March, in a 4-1 loss to Real Salt Lake.

And here’s another thing those two games shared: The Galaxy was without central defender Omar Gonzalez both times. Gonzalez didn’t miss another game to injury in 2011, going on to win league defender-of-the-year honors.

He isn’t expected back until midsummer at the earliest. And though Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena has tried to deflect attention from Gonzalez’s absence, the central defender was clearly missed Saturday.

And speaking of deflections, it was a ball that bounced off Galaxy defender Sean Franklin and into the net that started Real Salt Lake’s comeback.

Edson Buddle, playing his first MLS game in 17 months, gave the Galaxy a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute when he beat a trio of Salt Lake defenders to a bending pass from David Beckham, then headed it past keeper Nick Rimando.

But the lead lasted only two minutes before Franklin appeared to slip trying to get in front of a cross from Sebastian Velasquez and redirected the ball into his own goal. Shortly after that, second-half substitute Javier Morales put Real Salt Lake in front to stay, beating a trio of Galaxy players to a cross directly in front of the goal and poking it past hard-luck keeper Josh Saunders.

Fabian Espindola scored the final goal, finishing a broken-field run up the left flank by curling deep into the penalty area and punching a shot past Saunders, who wound up with more goals allowed (three) than saves (two).

Last season, when he took the starting job from the injured Donovan Ricketts, Saunders gave up as many as three goals in a game just twice. This year Ricketts is gone, traded to Montreal in the off-season.

The loss was the first at home for the Galaxy since the MLS conference final in November 2010 — which was also the last game Buddle played before leaving for Germany. And though Buddle was active in his return Saturday, striker Robbie Keane, his teammate up front, had a poor night.

Keane failed to finish at least three promising chances and the Galaxy also ran into some poor luck late in the first half when shots from Landon Donovan and newcomer Marcelo Sarvas struck the crossbar.

Sarvas’ 35-yard blast was especially close, ringing off the underside of the goal and nearly deflecting into the net.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com