Los Angeles Football Club against Real Salt Lake Saturday night in Sandy, UT. LAFC is now (5-1-3, 18 points) and in second place in the Western Conference.
LAFC started the scoring in the eighth minute when Mahala Opoku got behind the Salt Lake defense and ran onto a perfect long ball from Ilie Sanchez before blasting a shot over RSL goalkeeper Zac McMath. MLS MVP candidate and leading scorer Denis Bouanga made it 2-0 in the 34th minute, scoring his 9th MLS goal of the season and 15th in all competitions off on a pass from Carlos Vela. The Black & Gold would enter the half leading two-nil.
LAFC resumed the second half running through the gates with a near miss to the right side of the goal with a shot from Timothy Tillman from outside the 18-yard-box. In the 86th minute, Salt Lake’s Bryan Vera conceded a penalty kick cutting a direct run on goal from Denis Bouanga Forward Mateusz Bogusz converted the penalty kick, scoring his first MLS and LAFC career goal in the 87th minute. LAFC closed out the match 3-0, securing the Club’s second regular season win on the road.
NEWS & NOTES
- LAFC is now 11-1-0 (W-L-T) all-time record in the regular season vs. RSL.
- Denis Bouanga now has 21 goal contributions (15 goals + 6 assists) in 17 games across all competitions in 2023. That is the most goal contributions by a player in MLS at this point in the season in the last four years.
- Carlos Vela leads LAFC and MLS with five assists this season.
- Mateusz Bogusz registered his first MLS and LAFC career goal in the 87th minute from the PK spot.
- Goalkeeper John McCarthy secured his 5th regular season clean sheet through nine regular season appearances.
LAFC is back in action Wednesday, May 17 as the Club hosts Sporting Kansas City at BMO Stadium. Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and on radio on ESPN 710 AM and 980 La Mera Mera (ESP).
