With a chance to bolster its position in the top four of the Western Conference table, Los Angeles FC hosts Atlanta United on Saturday in its penultimate regular-season home game.
Los Angeles FC (15-7-8, 53 points) is riding a season-high four-game winning streak and trails third-seeded Minnesota United by two points with two games in hand entering the weekend. Los Angeles has outscored its opponents 15-4 across the four-game stretch, the club’s most goals in four games since July 2019.
In the team’s last six MLS matches, Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min have combined to score all 17 goals for Los Angeles. Bouanga’s 23 goals rank second in Major League Soccer, while Son has scored eight goals in eight games since signing with Los Angeles on August 6.
“Those are two really good players,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “The other eight players on the field are doing a great job of putting them in positions to succeed. We really see this as a team effort. Those are the guys finishing plays at the moment, but the amount of work that goes into those plays by everybody is wonderful to watch. … I’m a very happy coach right now to see everything functioning.”
On paper, Los Angeles is playing the right opponent if it wants to extend its winning streak.
Atlanta (5-14-12, 27 points) has just one league victory since May 28, a 1-0 win at Nashville on August 30. With three games left, the club is in danger of finishing with fewer than six wins in a season for the first time in franchise history.
Atlanta was held scoreless for the 11th time in a 2-0 defeat against the New England Revolution last Saturday. In arguably Atlanta’s most disappointing season to date, head coach Ronny Deila summed up the team’s issues.
“We are too — I’ve used this expression many times this year — soft,” Deila said. “You cannot go away and not dig in and fight and win challenges. That’s what it starts with, and I think (New England) wanted it more than us today, and that’s very sad to say.”
Atlanta, which has a minus-20 goal differential, is led by Emmanuel Latte Lath’s seven goals, followed by Alexey Miranchuk’s six.
–Field Level Media
