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LAFC 4, Real Salt Lake 1: Sonny shines with hat trick, Bounga breaks record in rout of RSL

Son's first MLS hat trick and Bouanga now LAFC all-time leading goal scorer after big road win
Trebor TracyBy 5 Mins Read
LAFC forward Son Heung-Min completed his first-ever MLS hat trick. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles FC

Midweek madness never looked so good for LAFC. It’s rare in soccer that a new player arrives and makes such a dramatic, immediate impact, but that is exactly what Son Heung-Min has done for Los Angeles. The team has lost just one match since his arrival, and while the results are excellent, it’s the way they have performed that really stands out. The attack looks much more rejuvenated, and at the moment, LAFC are back to their unstoppable ways, capable of scoring in bunches and dissecting defenses with precision. This was the case once again last night, as the team were on the road to take on Real Salt Lake, and once again, they wasted no time, nor opportunities, as they routed the hosts in their 4-1 win.

After starting off the match with a goal in 53 seconds just days prior, Sonny was a bit more humble this time around, but only a bit. Waiting for three minutes this go-round, as LAFC’s midfield did a great job in putting an abrupt stop to the RSL build-up, resulting in an immediate counter-attack situation. The ball was lofted up to Son who was in stride, and he calmly got his space needed and without a second thought, put it past the keeper with relative ease to open up scoring, giving LAFC the early lead yet again.

The Korean superstar was far from finished. Likely inspired by Denis Bouanga’s hat trick last match, Son decided he wanted more. In the 17th minute LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead found Son in the middle of the pitch, a fair distance outside the box, and the striker decided he was tired of just walking it in all the time. A couple of dribbles to build momentum and with nobody closing in, Son delivered a massive strike from distance that found its way past the keeper and into the corner of the net to double the lead and his goal tally on the night.

The team took the two goal lead into the halftime break, showing once again that in soccer its rarely about the possession, or how many shots you can rack up, but way more about how efficient you are with those shots. RSL finished the half with 13 shots,  four on target, and while a couple of them were threatening, they couldn’t find the back of the net. On the other side, LAFC finished the half with just four shots, two on target, both of which resulted in their goals. This is something Los Angeles has lacked in recent months, the clinical finishing in the final third that fans of this club have become so accustomed to.

The second half was a lot more of LAFC seeing out the match. They had just five shots in the second half, but they also were able to get more goals, as they were making the most of the counter-attack and finding all the space they needed to in order to really make the home side pay. However, RSL did get on the board in the 76th minute. Some awkward passing in the box led to a moment of brilliance as Zavier Gozo put together an impressive bicycle-esque kick that screamed past Lloris to give his side the goal, avoiding the shutout.

It took until the 82nd minute, but Son finally got his hat trick, marking the first hat trick performance in the MLS for the newly arrived superstar. A pinpoint pass sent Bouanga on the run with plenty of open space and a likely concerned opposing goalkeeper ahead. Despite being clinical in his own right, Bouanga opted to not take the chance on himself, instead laying off a perfect pass to his new bestie, Son, who was running in stride alongside him. Despite the RSL defender there, the effort was futile as Son easily got it past him for the goal, and the hat trick.

Karma exists, and when you do good, it will come back to you, as Denis Bouanga learned. After being selfless and giving up a goal chance of his own to ensure Son’s first MLS hat trick, it was his turn to make some history. Some more defense from LAFC resulted in Bouanga getting on the end of a solid pass and with one quick move, getting past the only defender between him and the goal. It was a long run, but Denis made it look easy, barreling down the middle of the pitch and as calm and cool as you like, he waited until the perfect moment and got it past the keeper for one last goal on the evening. The real significance, was that the goal was number 94 for Denis Bouanga, officially surpassing club legend Carlos Vela and putting him atop as LAFC’s all-time leading scorer.

It was one of those nights for LAFC where everything went their way. A truly vintage performance, with the team catching fire at the perfect time with playoffs drawing near. Speaking of, the win also saw them move up to fourth, in a hosting position should they be able to maintain it through the end of the season. Everything is starting to fall into place for Los Angeles.

Thoughts on the win? Leave a comment below!

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