Son Heung-min's rating on 'four assists' beats Hat-trick Vuanga 'highest rating'

*This content was translated by AI.

Son Heung-min (34, LAFC), who recorded four assists in one game for the first time in his debut, became the team's highest rating, beating his teammate Dnie Vuanga, who achieved a hat trick (three goals).

Son Heung-min started against Orlando City in the sixth round of the 2026 U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) home game at BMO Stadium in LA, California on the 5th (Korea time) and played a "one-man show" in which he recorded as many as four assists in the first half alone.

Son Heung-min scored four goals in one game when he was at Tottenham in the English Premier League (EPL), but it is his first "real record" in his career that he scored four assists in one game.

Son Heung-min, who was the front-line striker, dribbled near the half-line in the counterattack in the 20th minute of the first half and handed a pass to Buanga, who penetrated forward. Buanga shook the net with an exquisite shot over the goalkeeper's height and built his first assist of the day.

Three minutes later, Son Heung-min's exquisite space pass came out to the front of the Buanga, which penetrates forward from the LAFC camp. After the sprint, Buanga beat a defender and shot with his right foot to shake the net. Son Heung-min and Buanga scored consecutive joint goals.

The momentum was not dampened. In the 28th minute of the first half, the ball that Buanga cut off the opponent's ball in front of the arc was connected to Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min immediately passed the pass again to Buanga, who penetrated the back space of the defense, and Buanga finished with his right foot.

In addition, Son Heung-min received Buanga's pass on the other side in the 40th minute of the first half, dug into the right side, and even helped Sergiy Palesia's goal with a cutback given to the door. Son Heung-min was also responsible for the cross that induced the opponent's own goal in the 7th minute of the first half, so all five of LAFC's goals were made on Son Heung-min's toes.

After that, Son Heung-min was replaced early along with Buanga in the 12th minute of the second half. The victory has already been greatly tilted, and it was a change in physical strength ahead of the match against the North-China Caribbean Football Federation (CONCACAF) Champions Cup Cruze Asul (Mexico). LAFC then added Tyler Boyd's extra goal to defeat Orlando City 6-0.

Football statistics media Potmob gave Son Heung-min the "highest rating" instead of Buanga, who scored a hat trick on the day. Son Heung-min scored 9.8 points and Buanga scored 9.7. Son Heung-min accumulated four assists, recording five chances and two big chances at 85% of the pass success rate. He also scored four shots and aimed for the opponent's goal, but it did not come to fruition. Another media outlet, SofaScore, however, gave Buanga a perfect 10 points and Son Heung-min 9.4 points.

Son Heung-min, who had four assists on this day alone, achieved double-digit offensive points this season with one goal and 11 assists in 10 games this season, including seven assists in MLS (based on MLS) and one goal and four assists in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. MLS recognizes not only the last pass but also the starting pass as assist, and even excluding MLS recognition assist, it is 1 goal and 10 assists.

It is the first time in nine games that Son Heung-min has accumulated multi-attack points since he scored one goal and three assists in the CONCACAF Champions Cup against Real Spain on February 18, the first game of the season. Son Heung-min will start hunting for his second consecutive attack point and first field goal of the season through the first leg of the Champions Cup quarterfinals against Cruz Asul (Mexico) at 11 a.m. on the 8th.

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*This content was translated by AI.