Name a better duo … through a half-dozen games, at least.
Playing together the past month and a half, Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min keep showcasing what they’re capable of for the Los Angeles Football Club.
That’s a concerning development if you’re a Major League Soccer defender.
LAFC look especially dangerous coming out of the international break following a tweak of its formation. Using Bouanga and Son as the attackers instead of the usual three, that wrinkle, paired with what turned out to be a natural, joyful connection between the players, sparked dominant road wins at San Jose and Salt Lake City.
Record setting outcomes, at that.
The 4-2 and 4-1 finals marked the first time LAFC (13-7-8, 47 points) scored four or more goals in consecutive road matches, pushing their unbeaten streak away from BMO Stadium to 10 to conclude a spell that saw the team travel for five of its last six games.
Those eight goals were evenly divided between Bouanga and Son.
In both matches, Timothy Tillman joined them as a forward on the team sheet, but the German-American operated more as a box-to-box midfielder, looking for space to free Bouanga and Son so the new friends could haunt goalkeepers behind exposed backlines.
Maybe not so coincidentally, LAFC on Thursday announced a contract extension for the versatile Tillman through 2028, with an option for an additional year.
Without a true third forward, “our attack is very fluid,” head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “It can be those two running in behind. It can be a midfielder. It could be one of our wingbacks. Our ideas to attack spaces remain the same whether you play three at the back or four at the back. I think that little tweak in our formation has made us a little less predictable and more difficult to defend. That is a tool that we’re going to hold onto, but by no means are we giving up on our normal formation, a 4-3-3.”
Son agreed. The team is 3-1-2 since he joined, averaging 2.33 goals per game, more than half a goal better than the previous 22 league matches.
“We scored a lot of goals,” the happy South Korean star said Wednesday following his first hat-trick with LAFC. “We enjoyed it. But we still think we can play three up front. And one up front. We have a lot of options because we have such good quality.”
Regardless of tactics or partners in black and gold, Bouanga has proven himself time and again. He did so in a big way at RSL, surpassing Carlos Vela with goal No. 94 to become LAFC’s all-time leading scorer.
“This is the top achievement of my career,” Bouanga said. “It’s something special to do, but now this goal is achieved I will have other goals that I want to reach before the end of the season.”
Aiming to reach 100 goals before the end of the regular season, his next chance comes Sunday on Carlos Vela Night as 10th-place RSL (10-15-4, 34 points) seeks to return the favor in a rare home-and-home season series over a five-day span.
If Bouanga scores for the fourth consecutive league contest, Vela will witness the Frenchman make history by becoming the only MLS player with three consecutive 20-goal regular seasons.
Bouanga had a chance to accomplish that a few days ago, but he assisted Son’s hat-trick clincher instead.
“I could have scored. The goal was open,” Bouanga said. “Last week, I scored my hat trick, so I know the feeling. When I made this pass, it was also good for him to have the same feeling this week to score a hat trick. To celebrate it together, it was good for him. It was good for the fans. I know I’m in the race to be the top scorer of the team for the Golden Boot, but that was a great moment for the team.”
Everyone affiliated with the club can celebrate another moment this weekend – a fourth straight MLS Cup playoff berth, the seventh in eight years of the club’s existence – if San Jose drops points Saturday or LAFC avoids defeat.
REAL SALT LAKE AT LAFC
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: BMO Stadium
TV/Radio: FS1, Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)/710 AM, 980 AM, 1230 AM
