After Real goalkeeper Nick Rimand saved former Liverpool and England midfielder Gerrard's weak spot kick in the sixth minute, Juan Manuel Martinez headed Real ahead in the 16th minute.
The Galaxy hit back through Gyasi Zardes three minutes later, before Mike Magee, Emmanuel Boateng and Giovani dos Santos gave them a 4-1 lead by half time.
"It was fun to see everything click,” said Boateng. “Hopefully, it’s something we can build on.”
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Real Salt Lake’s Javier Morales converted a penalty kick in the 70th minute before Gerrard capped the scoring with his first of the season two minutes into added time.
Western Conference leaders Dallas suffered a 3-0 loss to the Whitecaps in Vancouver, while Colorado, in second place, beat Seattle 3-1.
In the East, Chris Pontius and C.J. Sapong scored first-half goals as Philadelphia Union beat New York City FC 2-0, Sebastian Giovinco scored twice to give Toronto FC a 2-0 win over Montreal and D.C. United beat New England Revolution 3-0.
Kei Kamara scored a penalty in the 21st minute to give Columbus Crew a 1-0 win against Houston Dynamo.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
