LAFC Blanks LA Galaxy 3-0 in El Tráfico as Son Scores First MLS Goal of the Season.

CARSON, Calif. — LAFC made an emphatic return from the FIFA World Cup break, defeating the LA Galaxy 3-0 on Friday night at Dignity Health Sports Park behind goals from Mark Delgado, Denis Bouanga, and Son Heung-Min. The victory moves LAFC into third place in the Western Conference with a 8-5-3 MLS record (27 points) while improving to 13-6-5 across all competitions. LAFC struck first in the 26th minute when midfielder Mark Delgado haunted his former club. Jacob Shaffelburg delivered a cross into the penalty area that Delgado headed toward goal. The attempt deflected off Galaxy defender Jakob Glesnes before falling back to Delgado, who quickly buried the rebound from close range for his second goal of the season and first against the club he represented from 2022-24. The visitors doubled their advantage just before halftime after Denis Bouanga was fouled inside the penalty area by Justin Haak. Although it initially appeared that Son Heung-Min would take the penalty, the South Korean star handed the ball to Bouanga, who calmly converted from the spot in the 45th minute. The goal was Bouanga's sixth in MLS play and his team-leading 11th across all competitions. It also marked the seventh consecutive match against the Galaxy in which Bouanga has scored, extending his own El Tráfico record.

Son nearly found the scoresheet early in the second half when his curling effort from outside the box forced Galaxy goalkeeper Novak Mićović into a full-stretch diving save.

The breakthrough finally came in the 58th minute. Mathieu Choinière won possession in midfield before Delgado provided a well-weighted layoff to Son, who finished from the top of the penalty area to score his first MLS goal of the season. Delgado earned his first assist of the night on the play, while Son added to his league-leading assist total, now pairing one goal with nine assists this season. Defensively, LAFC controlled the match throughout. Veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made two saves to record his league-best ninth clean sheet of the MLS season. The shutout was LAFC's 12th across all competitions in 2026 and its 10th in league play, both among the best defensive marks in Major League Soccer. The match also featured the LAFC debut of defender Yevhen Cheberko, who started at left back and played 75 minutes before being substituted. Ryan Hollingshead made his 250th MLS regular-season start, becoming the 99th player in league history to reach the milestone, while Delgado appeared in his 358th MLS regular-season match, moving into 24th place on the league's all-time appearances list.

With the victory, LAFC evened the all-time El Tráfico series against the Galaxy at 10 wins, 10 losses, and seven draws across all competitions.

LAFC returns to action Wednesday, July 22, when it hosts Real Salt Lake at BMO Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT.