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LAFC 4, Real Salt Lake 1: Los Angeles honor El Rey with historic performance

Another record for LAFC as they continue incredible form
Trebor TracyBy 6 Mins Read
One LAFC legend Carlos Vela (left) congratulates future club legend Denis Bouanga (right) on another spectacular performance for the win. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles FC

It was a night of celebrations and another record-setting performance for LAFC last night as the team played host to Real Salt Lake for the second match of their back-to-back. Noche De Carlos Vela had the vibes around the stadium as immaculate as they have ever been, which is saying something, as the team honored their club legend, making him the first-ever inductee to the club’s Ring Of Honor. It was an obvious first choice for the first-ever signing that kept his promise and brought them their first-ever MLS Cup, and it was also a night for more history to made on the pitch courtesy of what many consider to be the heir apparent to the LAFC throne.

Surely there were some people in the stands early on that might’ve thought this would be a tense night. LAFC hadn’t scored in the first minute of the match, something they had gotten used to doing the last couple of outings, and then to really make things antsy, it was the visitors who got on the board first with an early goal of their own. RSL defender Brayan Vera channeled his inner striker in the 14th minute of the match when LAFC gave him just a bit too much space to operate. To be fair, there aren’t many defenders on the planet you would ever expect to get a shot off like he did, from way outside the box, letting firing off a rocket with his left foot, leaving LAFC keeper Lloris with no chance of saving it as he gave his side the lead early.

Again, there were some antsy vibes after that banger, with many wondering if this would be one of those cruel nights the soccer gods decide to rain on the celebratory evening. However, LAFC’s attack as of late has been far too potent to be contained, and while it took until the end of the half, the goals did come. First, it was Denis Bouanga in stoppage time as the first half was coming to a close. Bouanga got the ball into the box where he made a gorgeous first touch to set up the beautiful one-two between him and Son, with the latter flicking the ball right back, leaving the finish to Denis, who needed did just that for the equalizer, making it 20 goals for him on the season.

Scoring the equalizer and going into the halftime break would have been perfect, but the black & gold had other plans, they wanted to make it clear they had finally woken up. Even deeper into stoppage time, with one of the last attacks of the half, it was Sonny who shined once again and bagged his goal. A nice layoff pass from David Martinez set Son up with space and just enough time to get his shot off from outside the box. The strike had enough on it to get just past the outstretched keeper and just inside the right side of the post for the lead right before the break.

LAFC went into half with 10 shots in the first 45, five finding their target and two late goals for the lead. While they took a while to score and conceded early, they still controlled that first half and truly never looked in any real danger of dropping the match. It was far from the performances we have seen on the nights they do put up a stinker. The second half was more of the same for the team as the show was only just getting started. RSL was just hoping to avoid another blowout, but those hopes were dashed in the 76th minute when Bouanga once again found himself behind the defense and the ball at his feet on a perfect pass setting him free. You know how that story goes, but this time it ended with some flair as Bouanga took on the defense, got as close as he could to goal, and then chipped the keeper with flair to secure his brace on the evening and putting him right in the middle of this year’s Golden Boot race.

Just 10 minutes later, Bouanga would add another to complete his hat trick and you knew if anyone was going to be scoring a hat trick on Noche De Carlos Vela, it would be the heir to the throne, Denis himself. A great run into the box was rewarded with a precise pass that he only needed one touch on to put it into the back of the net. The hat trick made set another record for LAFC, making them the first club ever to have three consecutive matches with a player scoring a hat trick (Denis Bouanga with two, Son with one).

It was another offensive explosion for LAFC as they continue their absolute insane run of form at the moment. There is peaking right before the playoffs, and then there is what they are doing which is looking real unstoppable. They beat RSL by an aggregate of 8-2 in their two meetings, extending the win streak to three matches, having score four goals in all three wins. The team will hit the road again for their next match, as they take on St. Louis City SC. Truly a night to remember, and a bit of a passing of the torch moment as one club legend was honored, and another club superstar all but cemented his legendary status.

Thoughts on the win at home for Noche De Carlos Vela? Leave a comment below!

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