EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — David Beckham returned to Major League Soccer with a whisper, not a shout.

Playing in a stadium nearly three-quarters empty, the star midfielder was slow and had little role in the Los Angeles Galaxy's 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls tonight.

In his first match since the Italian League's season finale on May 31, Beckham was often behind the play and seemed winded. He had no free-kick chances near the goal, didn't make any crosses that created threats and didn't even take all the Galaxy corner kicks while he was in the match.

Still, fans scurried down the aisles to get better pictures when he did take corner kicks, and many booed when he came out in the 70th minute.

While he's back in the U.S., the buzz has worn off.

Los Angeles drew 66,237 for its 5-4 win at the Red Bulls two years ago, the largest soccer crowd at Giants Stadium for a U.S. league game in 27 years. Attendance dropped to 46,754 for last year's 2-2 tie and fell by 50 percent to 23,238 Thursday. Eleven of 36 sections in lower deck were covered with navy tarp, and there were only a handful of people in the second deck and none at all in the third.

Alecko Eskandarian, Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis scored first-half goals for the Galaxy (6-3-9), who have won four straight MLS games for the first time since September-October 2007 and are fighting for a playoff berth.

Juan Pablo Angel had an 87th-minute penalty kick and failed to convert one in the 90th minute for the Red Bulls (2-14-4), who would be a lock for relegation if the MLS had relegation. They dropped to 0-9-2 in the league and 0-10-2 overall since beating San Jose on May 8.

Beckham appeared to go out of his way to be friendly with Donovan, who in a book out this week criticized his teammate as unprofessional for allegedly quitting on the Galaxy in the late stages of a disappointing 2008 season.

With the captain's armband stripped from Beckham and restored to Donovan, the 27-year-old American led the Galaxy onto the field while Beckham was next-to-last among the 11 starters, ahead of only goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

Beckham and Donovan shook hands and embraced ahead of the opening whistle. Beckham draped his arm around Donovan after the American scored, and the two hugged after Donovan assisted on the third goal.

Beckham, twice runner-up in FIFA player of the year voting and former star with Manchester United and Real Madrid, joined the Galaxy with great fanfare two years ago and received a $32.5 million, five-year contract in a league where many players earn $30,000 annually and young players as little as $20,100. He bolted for a half-season loan to Italian power AC Milan in January, saying he needed to face top competition to keep a spot on England's national team, and he likely will return to Europe at the start of 2010 to stay sharp ahead of the World Cup.

But for now, the 34-year-old midfielder is in the soccer backwater of the United States. While the crowd was small, it was more than double the Red Bulls' previous home average this year of 11,385. The team moves next season to Red Bull Arena, a 25,189-capacity soccer stadium under construction in Harrison, and a shakeup is likely.

Playing on the type of artificial turf surface Beckham criticized two years ago, the Galaxy went ahead when Eskandarian scored in the third minute on a left-footed volley that beat goalkeeper Danny Cepero from about 28 yards. Eskandarian, acquired by Chivas USA on July 1, was an All-America at Bergen Catholic High School and is a son of former Cosmos star Andranik Eskandarian.

Donovan, back from playing with the U.S. national team at the Confederations Cup in South Africa, showed the type of speed Beckham lacked. He got his seventh MLS goal of the season in the 31st minute with a 28-yard right-footed shot after Beckham took a corner kick, the ball bounded out of the area and Lewis passed to him.

Lewis scored in the 45th minute from 15 yards off a Donovan cross. In a dull second half, Ricketts deflected Angel's second penalty off a post, then collected it.