LAFC opened play in Leagues Cup 2024 with a convincing 3-0 win over Liga MX side Club Tijuana on Friday night at BMO Stadium. Cristian Olivera had two goals and an assist and Denis Bouanga had a goal and two assists in the win while Hugo Lloris made four saves to keep a clean sheet.
LAFC went ahead after just nine minutes when Bouanga dribbled through the Tijuana defense before hitting a low, hard ball across the face of goal. Olivera arrived at the back post to finish the cross, giving LAFC a 1-0 lead.
In the 43rd minute, Bouanga and Olivera reversed their roles with Olivera setting up Bouanga to make the score 2-0. The Uruguay international got in behind the Tijuana defense on the right wing and hit a cross that eluded Tijuana goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez but found Bouanga, who volleyed home with his left foot to double LAFC’s lead heading into halftime.
Just six minutes into the second half, LAFC got a third goal courtesy of Olivera. Eduard Atuesta’s long ball from midfield put Bouanga in alone on the Tijuana goal. His shot from 12 yards out hit the post, but the rebound deflected off him and into the path of Olivera who slammed the ball into the open net, ahead of a sliding Tijuana defender, to make the score 3-0.
LAFC returns to League Cup action on Tuesday, July 30, when the club plays its final Group Stage game against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BMO Stadium. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and is available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, 710 AM ESPN LA and 980 AM La Mera Mera.
Vancouver will then host Tijuana on Saturday, August 3, to complete play in Group West 7. The top two teams in the group will advance to the Round of 32.
NEWS & NOTES
- With the win, LAFC is now 18-5-5 in all competitions in 2024. The club is 14-5-5 in MLS play, 3-0-0 in the U.S. Open Cup and now 1-0-0 in Leagues Cup.
- At BMO Stadium, LAFC is 12-1-3 in 2024.
- LAFC now has a 5-5-2 record all-time against Liga MX clubs.
- LAFC is 3-1-0 all-time in Leagues Cup, including 3-0-0 at BMO Stadium. In those three games, LAFC has outscored its opponents 14-1.
- LAFC has scored multiple goals in all four of its Leagues Cup matches, tallying 16 times for an average of four goals per game.
- LAFC outshot Tijuana 21-19 in the game, with 19 of those 21 shots coming from inside the penalty area.
- With his two goals in the game, Cristian Olivera now has 10 goals in all competitions this year with LAFC. He has five goals in the league, three in the Open Cup and two in Leagues Cup.
- Olivera joins Denis Bouanga and Carlos Vela as the only LAFC players with a multi-goal game in Leagues Cup. Vela scored twice in the 7-1 win over Juarez last year while Bouanga had a hat trick in that game and a pair of goals in the 4-0 win over Real Salt Lake in the Round of 16.
- Olivera, who made his LAFC debut last year shortly after the club was eliminated from the inaugural Leagues Cup, was also credited with an assist in Friday’s win and now has three assists this year. He has recorded assists in MLS play, the Open Cup and now Leagues Cup.
- In four Leagues Cup games, Bouanga now has seven goals and five assists. He has contributed to 12 of the 16 goals that LAFC has scored in the competition, including eight of the last nine.
- Bouanga has at least a goal and an assist in all four Leagues Cup games that LAFC has played.
- In 2024, Bouanga has 17 goals and 13 assists in all competitions, giving him 30 goal involvements on the year. He has either scored or assisted on half of the 60 goals that LAFC has scored in all competitions in 2024.
- Hugo Lloris made four saves in the win. He now has 10 clean sheets on the year in all competitions.
