The league's first goal has finally fallen! Son Heung-min, a fantastic shot aimed at the corner... A radiant smile after 237 days... LAFC secures a decisive 3-0 victory in El Tráfico.

*This content was translated by AI.

Son Heung-min's (34) first league goal has finally come. It was his first Major League Soccer (MLS) goal in as many as 237 days.

LAFC secured a 3-0 victory in the 16th round of the 2026 MLS regular season away match against Los Angeles Galaxy, held on the 18th at 11:25 a.m. (Korean time) at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles, California.

With three additional points, LAFC moved up from fifth to third place in the Western Conference with 27 points (8 wins, 3 draws, 5 losses). Los Angeles Galaxy sits in ninth place with 20 points (5 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses).

Starting as a forward in a 4-3-3 formation, Son Heung-min led the attack alongside Denis Bouanga and Jacob Shaffelburg. The midfield was formed by Mark Delgado, Edder Saguira, and Mathieu Choiniere. The back four consisted of Yevhen Cheberko, Aaron Long, Ryan Porteous, and Ryan Hollingshead, with Hugo Lloris in goal.

Son Heung-min attempted shots actively early in the match. He took shots from outside the penalty box in the second and seventh minutes of the first half, but both were blocked by defenders.

The flow of the match was tight early on. Los Angeles Galaxy launched aggressive pressure based on high ball possession, while LAFC adopted a defensive approach with only Son Heung-min up front.

LAFC, which struggled to create attacking opportunities until the middle of the first half, finally found success. In the 25th minute of the first half, Shaffelburg delivered a cross from the left flank, which Delgado connected with a header that hit a defender. However, Delgado controlled the ball rebounding off the defender and pushed it in with his right foot to complete the opening goal.

Two minutes later, Son Heung-min's assist was unfortunately nullified. After dribbling past defenders near the penalty box, Son Heung-min threaded an through pass to Bouanga, who was making a run to the left. However, Bouanga's shot went high over the bar.

In the 29th minute of the first half, a dizzying situation occurred where Son Heung-min fell during a challenge for the ball. As Son Heung-min rushed toward the goal, he was struck in the face by a defender's raised foot and collapsed. It appeared to be a severe impact as he could not get up immediately, but fortunately, he stood up about a minute later.

Son Heung-min took his third shot late in the first half, but it missed the target. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Bouanga delivered a cross from the left flank, which Son Heung-min connected with a non-stop left-footed shot that went over the crossbar.

LAFC scored another goal. Shaffelburg was dribbling inside the penalty box and fell after being fouled by the main defender, prompting the referee to immediately award a penalty kick. Although it initially seemed Son Heung-min would take the penalty, he eventually passed the ball to Bouanga instead. Bouanga then struck the ball powerfully into the bottom left corner of the net.

The first half ended with LAFC leading 2-0.

Early in the second half, Son Heung-min took a sharp shot from what is known as the "Son Heung-min zone," but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the fourth minute of the second half, Son Heung-min cut inside from outside the box on the left and took a left-footed shot, but the goalkeeper parried it away.

Finally, Son Heung-min scored his first goal of the season. In the 12th minute of the second half during a counterattack, Son Heung-min dribbled past defenders up to the arc circle, exchanged passes with Delgado and Lee Dae-il, and then fired a right-footed diagonal shot toward the corner of the goal. The ball struck the bottom left corner of the net. Son Heung-min roared and celebrated the goal alongside his "soulmate" Bouanga.

With this, Son Heung-min recorded his third goal of the season and his first league goal in over three months since the Cruz Azul match on April 8. His last league goal was a full 237 days ago, following the Vancouver match on November 23 last year. Furthermore, he added the joy of scoring a debut goal in his El Tráfico debut.

Buoyed by momentum, Son Heung-min took a right-footed shot from outside the box on the left in the 15th minute of the second half after easily maneuvering past a defender, but the goalkeeper caught it.

Son Heung-min was substituted out for Tyler Boyd after playing approximately 75 minutes until the 30th minute of the second half. Upon entering the bench, Son Heung-min shared a deep embrace with coach Marc Dos Santos.

The match concluded with a decisive 3-0 victory for LAFC.

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*This content was translated by AI.