Son Heung-min, '237 days without a goal' still yields PK to teammate and scores the decisive goal himself — chose 'perfect goal' over 'easiest goal'

*This content was translated by AI.

Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) demonstrated his team-first spirit by yielding a penalty kick (PK) to a teammate despite being in a prolonged goal drought. It was a veteran's judgment that prioritized the team over personal scoring records.

On the 18th at 11:25 a.m. Korean time, LAFC secured a 3-0 away victory against LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles, California, USA, in the 16th round of the 2026 MLS regular season, led by Son Heung-min's decisive goal.

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). LA Galaxy remained in ninth place with 20 points (5 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses).

On this day, Son Heung-min passed a penalty kick opportunity that arose late in the first half to Denis Bouanga. In the 42nd minute of the first half, while LAFC led 1-0, Jacob Shaffelburg attempted to dribble into the opponent's penalty box but was tripped by a defender, prompting the referee to immediately award a PK.

Following this, Son Heung-min stood at the penalty spot holding the ball, leading many to expect him to take the kick. However, when it came time to shoot, Son Heung-min handed the ball to Bouanga and yielded the kick. The kicker, Bouanga, calmly shot into the left side of the goal to make it 2-0.

Until this match, Son Heung-min had not scored in any league game for a staggering 237 days since November 23 last year against Vancouver. He also failed to score in all three group stage matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup North America qualifiers. In such a prolonged goal drought, the PK would have been the most certain and easiest opportunity to break his scoring curse with a debut goal.

However, Son Heung-min chose to support Bouanga, who currently leads LAFC in league goals with seven. This demonstrated his spirit as a team player rather than showing impatience typical of a striker.

After yielding the scoring opportunity, Son Heung-min ultimately created his own chance and scored a field goal. In the 12th minute of the second half, during a counterattack, he exchanged passes with Mark Delgado and Lee Dae-il before unleashing a sharp diagonal right-footed shot from near the arc circle to score LAFC's third goal.

Son Heung-min exerted significant influence throughout the match on this day. He attempted the most shots of any player in the game, totaling six. According to football statistics platform FootMob, he recorded a 97% pass success rate (28/29), created two scoring opportunities, and won three aerial duels.

FootMob awarded Son Heung-min the third-highest rating among all players with an 8.4. The highest ratings of 8.9 went to Bouanga, who scored the penalty goal, and Delgado, who contributed one goal and one assist.

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*This content was translated by AI.