Los Angeles FC’s struggles on offense will be in full view Saturday when they play host to the resurgent Portland Timbers.
LAFC (10-7-4, 34 points) has been dealt consecutive 1-0 defeats, the most recent of which came on the road Wednesday against the Colorado Rapids. The club had been held without a goal just two other times in MLS play, both scoreless draws.
Immediately following the World Cup break, LAFC were an offensive machine with 10 goals in three matches. But August arrived with four consecutive one-goal games across all competitions.
The struggles are even more pronounced now.
Offensive standouts Heung-Min Son and Denis Bouanga are expected back in the starting lineup Saturday after they were reduced to substitute roles against the Rapids amid a compacted schedule.
“We’re the second oldest team in MLS right now and there are some players at a certain age we have to manage a little bit,” LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said. “For me, Sonny would be on the field all the time. But at the same time, we cannot have a player always playing three games in a week.”
Bouanga leads LAFC with 10 goals, while Son has a club-best 10 assists.
The Timbers (8-9-3, 27 points) enter off a 3-1 home victory over San Diego FC on Wednesday when Kristoffer Velde, Ariel Lassiter and David Da Costa each scored. The win moved Portland above the playoff line.
Velde had two assists to give him a team-best eight. Kevin Kelsey leads Portland with nine goals but just one over the past five matches across all competitions.
New Timbers head coach Marti Cifuentes earned his first win with the club.
“There have been a few changes in terms of attacking, first and foremost,” Velde said about the team since Cifuentes made his debut Aug. 13 in a Leagues Cup match. “(Cifuentes) has tried to keep it simple. … We have a lot of experienced guys on the team and I think it will turn out good.”
The teams met on April 11 when the Timbers earned a 2-1 home victory on goals from Velde and Kelsey, whose game-winner came in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.
It was LAFC’s first loss of the season following a 5-0-1 start and the first time they allowed a goal on the season.
–Field Level Media
