South Korea’s Heung-min Son scored his first MLS hat-trick to lead Los Angeles FC (LAFC) to a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake (RSL) on Wednesday night in a key matchup to stay in contention at the top of the Western Conference.
Son, who arrived a month ago from the English Premier League, opened the scoring in the third minute with a lethal counterattack, taking advantage of his speed and precision. Later, in the 16th minute, he surprised with a powerful shot from mid-distance to make it 2-0, consolidating a devastating start for the Angelino team.
Carlos Vela’s all-time record broken
Buzzy
In the second half, RSL wasted a great opportunity to get closer when Rwan Cruz missed a penalty kick in the 45th minute, crashing the ball off the right post.
The rebound ended up in the hands of French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who had already dived the other way.
Real Salt Lake scored in the 76th minute with a spectacular bicycle kick by young Zavier Gozo to make it 3-1.
However, Heung-min Son completed his hat-trick in the 82nd minute with a sweeping finish inside the box after a 2-on-1 play with Denis Bouanga.
Six minutes later, Bouanga made it 4-1 on a counter-attack and broke the deadlock with Mexican legend Carlos Vela.
He became LAFC’s all-time leading scorer with 94 official goals.
On the road to the playoffs
Son arrived a month ago from the English Premier League
QuéOnnda.com
This victory comes on the heels of a 4-2 win over San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday.
When Bouanga scored the third hat-trick of his career and Heung-min Son scored the other goal in just the first minute of play.
With this result, LAFC has won two in a row and consolidates its position at the top of the West.
Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake has dropped four of its last five games and is slipping out of the playoff picture.
Heung-min Son’s performance in his arrival in MLS has generated great expectation among Hispanic fans in Los Angeles, who see in him a new international figure capable of leading the club to the title in 2025.
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