Son Heung-Min, LAFC too much for Real Salt Lake

Field Level Media|published: Thu 23rd July, 01:12 2026

Jul 17, 2026; Carson, California, USA; LAFC forward Son Heung-Min (7) and forward Denis Bouanga (99) walk on the field before the match against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Son Heung-Min scored his second goal in as many matches and also helped create another as LAFC eased to a 3-1 victory over visiting Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night.

Denis Bouanga added his team-leading eighth goal for LAFC (9-5-3, 30 points), which won their third straight overall and second after the World Cup break following a 3-0 victory at the LA Galaxy last Friday.

Lukas Engel pulled a goal back in the 86th minute for Real Salt Lake (8-5-2, 26 points), which held a 27-11 edge in total shots and a 7-3 advantage in shots on target.

But that was not enough to halt a four-match away winless run or avoid snapping a modest three-match unbeaten stretch overall.

After scoring nine times in his first 10 MLS matches in 2025 following his mid-season league debut, Son went without a goal for the entirety of the pre-World Cup portion of this campaign, instead contributing an MLS-leading nine assists.

But after scoring in his return from World Cup duty with the South Korea national team last Friday, he quickly found the net again in the 11th minute on Wednesday with a strike that suggested plenty of confidence.

After taking a layoff pass from Jacob Shaffelburg, Son picked up the ball about 40 yards from goal, dribbled forward, made a stepover move to his left, and then curled a running, left-footed strike in the bottom left corner beyond the diving Rafael Cabral.

Bouanga doubled LAFC's lead in the 40th minute in a transition opportunity. Mathieu Choiniere played the throughball from his own half into Bouanga's run down the left.

With DeAndre Yedlin defending, Bouanga dribbled into the penalty area, cut to his right and then curled a right-footed strike into the top right corner well beyond Cabral's lunge.

Son then sealed the match on another transition attack and another rough moment for Yedlin.

This time Yedlin was defending the right flank as Son ran onto David Martinez's pass. Yedlin made a sliding challenge in an attempt to block Son's low cross. Instead, his contact redirected the ball past Cabral and into the RSL net.

Engel's volleyed consolation tally took a deflection off defender Nkosi Tafari on its way past Hugo Lloris (six saves), but the shot may have been struck sweetly enough to beat the French goalkeeper anyway.

--Field Level Media

Latest