Games in hand.
Over the summer, mentions of the Los Angeles Football Club’s position in the MLS standings – the team is currently fifth in the Western Conference – included notes about having as many as three more regular-season games to play than their conference competitors.
At this late stage of the season, that’s a luxurious cushion against the teams occupying playoff spots 6-9. It also tells the four teams above them that with 21 points to play for, the Black & Gold opponent in the mirror might be closer than it appears.
When LAFC qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup, dates against Toronto (June 13) and at Real Salt Lake (June 25) were moved so Chelsea FC and Flamengo could have a turn instead.
LAFC’s third rescheduled match, a consequence of the flooding that devastated the area around the Texas state capitol in early July, is set for Oct. 12 at Austin FC.
Last year, LAFC rallied over its final seven games from mid-September through Decision Day to secure the No. 1 seed thanks to goal differential over the Galaxy.
Collecting 16 points during that stretch, the team closed 2024 with five consecutive victories to finish atop the conference standings for the second time under head coach Steve Cherundolo.
In 2025, another mad dash to the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage seems implausible after LAFC (12-7-8, 44 points) lost to first-place San Diego (17-8-5, 56 points) on the final night of August. Yet LAFC remains firmly in the mix for a top-four spot, giving the makeup games added weight.
“The only thing we can do at this point in the season is to win games and keep climbing the table,” Cherundolo said. “Keep adding points to our account. That’s our main concern.”
LAFC could reach 50 points by Sunday night if it sweeps a back-to-back series against RSL beginning Wednesday night at America First Field in Sandy, Utah. Salt Lake is unbeaten in its last three encounters with LAFC, but just 3-11-1 against them in the regular season since 2018.
Currently 10th in the West with six games left, RSL (10-14-4, 34 points) understands where LAFC is coming from.
Led by U.S. international Diego Luna, the hosts have two more games than San Jose or Colorado, who comprise the wild-card round matchup at the moment.
Coming off what RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni called a “must-win” home game against a porous Sporting Kansas City squad – the 22-year-old Luna scored a team-leading ninth goal and they got the job done – Wednesday should provide a tougher test for a team that has scored the fourth-fewest goals in the league.
In June, RSL would not have had to concern itself with Son Heung-min playing alongside Denis Bouanga. Now, Mastroeni’s group must defend the duo days after they combined for four goals.
Bouanga’s hat-trick left him one goal shy of surpassing Carlos Vela for the most in LAFC history, and two from becoming the only MLS player to score 20 goals in league play during three consecutive years.
Real Salt Lake will take the good with the bad here considering LAFC did them a solid by throttling San Jose, 4-2, in front of nearly 60,000 fans at Levi’s Stadium.
The result nailed down points in nine consecutive MLS road dates for LAFC following a 1-3-0 start away from home in the spring. Prior to traveling on Tuesday, LAFC revealed that Spanish defender Sergi Palencia, who impressively assisted Bouanga’s third goal last weekend, agreed to a contract extension through 2028, with options for two additional seasons.
“Sergi is in many ways the heart and soul of the team,” Cherundolo said. “He is irreplaceable for us. On a one-on-one note, really, a coach’s dream. He gives you everything he has everyday, day in and day out.”
LAFC AT REAL SALT LAKE
When: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Where: America First Field, Sandy, Utah
TV/Radio: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+/710 AM, 980 AM, 1230 AM
