"Son Heung-min's first absence" was so fatal... LAFC 'loses for the first time of the season' to 'last place' Portland

*This content was translated by AI.

It was the limit of the team without the ace. While Son Heung-min (34) was excluded from the first list of this season, his team LAFC suffered its first loss of the season.

LAFC lost 1-2 to the Portland Timbers in the seventh round of the 2026 U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) away game at Providence Park in Portland on the 12th (Korea time).

As a result, LAFC ended its six-game unbeaten streak (5 wins, 1 draw) since the opening of this season, recording its 5th win, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Including the official match, it was a loss in 11 games.

Portland, which is in the lower ranks, has secured its second win of the season (1 draw and 4 losses) by catching big fish LAFC and ranking 11th with 7 points.

LAFC coach Mark dos Santos chose an unconventional rotation ahead of the game. It is interpreted as a preparation for the second leg of the quarterfinals of the 2026 North American Caribbean Football Confederation (CONCACAF) Champions Cup against Cruz Asul, which will be held in Mexico on the 15th.

On this day, LAFC took key striker Son Heung-min and main goalkeeper Hugo Lloris off the list and gave them a break. This is the first time Son Heung-min has been excluded from the MLS entry except during the A-match period.

With Son Heung-min absent, LAFC placed Nathan Ordas and Tyler Boyd on the three-top, led by Dennis Buanga. Seventeen-year-old prospects Jude Terry and 19-year-old Matthew Evans have launched an unconventional rotation in the midfield.

The atmosphere was not bad at the beginning of the game. In the 13th minute of the first half, Buanga threatened Portland with a sharp shot.

However, an unexpected variable occurred in the middle of the first half. In the 23rd minute of the first half, goalkeeper Thomas Harshal collided strongly with his teammate Smoliacov and collapsed. In the end, Harshal was replaced by Cabral Carter in the 30th minute following the concussion protocol.

The goal was lost in a chaotic situation where the gatekeeper was changed. In the 32nd minute, Portland's Christopher Welde shook the net with a powerful right-footed mid-range shot. The first half ended with LAFC trailing 0-1.

LAFC balanced just four minutes into the second half. Terry finished with a sharp right footed shot and scored the equalizer.

Since then, LAFC has tried to turn the tables by deploying Porteous and Delgado. In the 42nd minute of the second half, Porteous pushed Timothy Tillman's cross into the header and seemed to reverse the game, but VAR confirmed Tillman's offside and the score was canceled.

The game was split in the sixth minute of extra time in the second half. Portland clambered with three points. Brendan Bhai's ball from the back was dropped by Velde with his head, and Kevin Kelsey pushed it into the empty gate and scored the winning goal. In the end, the game ended in a 1-2 defeat by LAFC.

Although it was defeated, LAFC, which saved the physical strength of its main players such as Son Heung-min and Lloris, will now confirm its advance to the semifinals of the Champions Cup in an away match in Mexico during the week and turn the mood around.

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*This content was translated by AI.