Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Son Heung-min’s first home game with Los Angeles FC ended in a 2-1 defeat on Sunday, with Anders Dreyer scoring the winner for San Diego. The South Korean star Son was playing his first game at LAFC’s BMO Stadium, more than three weeks after landing with the club in a deal worth a reported Major League Soccer record $26 million transfer fee.
The former Tottenham captain appeared in three away games: a victory at New England Revolution and draws at Chicago and Dallas. However, after waiting what he said “felt like a year” to play before the home fans, he endured a first MLS defeat at the hands of Western Conference leaders San Diego. Son received a rapturous welcome, and LAFC got off to a promising start as Denis Bouanga put the hosts ahead with a goal in the 15th minute.
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But Hirving Lozano pulled one back in the 33rd minute, and Dreyer made it 2-1 in the 66th, with San Diego holding on in the face of a late LAFC barrage in which Bouanga and Son were unable to convert scoring chances. Expansion club San Diego, already the first team to book their MLS Cup playoff berth, strengthened their hold on first place in the West.
With 56 points, they lead playoff-bound Minnesota by five and are one point behind the East’s Philadelphia Union in the standings for the Supporters’ Shield for the best overall record in the league. LAFC are fifth in the West, three points behind Seattle Sounders for fourth, with the top four teams gaining home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
© 2024 AFP
