Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Marc Dos Santos always believed Son Heung-min would get himself back amongst the goals after netting in back-to-back games for Los Angeles FC.
Son had failed to score in his first 13 MLS outings in 2026 but ended that drought against the LA Galaxy before also finding the back of the net against Real Salt Lake last timeout.
The 34-year-old opened the scoring in the 11th minute of LAFC’s 3-1 win at BMO Stadium, with Denis Bouanga and a DeAndre Yedlin own goal sealing a third consecutive win.
LAFC are third in the Western Conference heading into this weekend’s clash with struggling Sporting Kansas City, and Dos Santos is confident Son will continue to shine.
“You guys know I always supported him, always believed in him,” Dos Santos said. “At the beginning of this year, the first part of the season, everything was getting blocked.
“He had so many – if you go see stats – shots blocked against him. Now, in the last two games, the shots were good, and he was able to finish, but [I was] always a big believer in what he could give to the team, and now he helps the team.”
Son has struck up a good partnership with Bouanga since arriving from Tottenham last year, and the Gabon international acknowledged the quality his strike partner possesses.
“It’s good service. He’s good.” Bouanga, who leads LAFC in MLS goals (eight) so far this season, added on Son. “When you score, the feeling is so good. It’s good for confidence, for the team, for me, and for Sonny.”
Sonny on the scoresheet again pic.twitter.com/aJE3VJAQns
Sporting KC, meanwhile, returned to winning ways by beating Minnesota United 2-1 last time out, with Dejan Joveljic and Manu Garcia on target at Sporting Park.
Raphael Wicky’s side remain at the bottom of the West table but closed the gap to Austin FC and San Diego FC to just three points after 16 games of their league campaign.
It was just Sporting KC’s fourth win of the season, and though Wicky said his team were made to work for their victory, he believes everything is moving in the right direction.
“I am very happy we won that game,” Wicky said. “Wins are rare, so we have to enjoy it. We have to suffer to get wins, it is not easy to win games in this league.
“It was a great performance in terms of the effort from everyone over 90-plus minutes. I liked that we tried to play and showed some of the things we have been working on.
“Sometimes you lose the ball and that is where our personality comes out, and our second goal is a good example of that. I loved the effort from my players.”
Son has scored goals in both of his matches since the end of the World Cup break, netting against RSL and LA Galaxy.
Prior to the break, Son had recorded just two goals in 21 competitive matches for LAFC in 2026, both of which were in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Joveljic, who scored the first of Sporting KC’s two goals against Minnesota on Wednesday, has scored seven career goals against LAFC in all competitions.
That includes six as a member of LA Galaxy, equalling his most against any opponent, having also netted seven times against Minnesota and the San Jose Earthquakes.
LAFC are unbeaten in 10 straight matches against Sporting KC in all competitions (W8 D2), including winning the last four in a row. Seven of LAFC’s eight wins over their next opponents during this run have been by multi-goal margins.
Their midweek win over RSL was also LAFC’s 17th MLS match of 2026 but the first time they had conceded exactly one goal. They have kept 10 clean sheets while allowing two goals three times, three goals once and four goals twice.
Sporting KC, meanwhile, have won three of their last five regular-season matches (L2), including a 2-1 win against Minnesota. They had won two of their previous 25 matches in all competitions (D4 L19) dating back to mid-July 2025.
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