LAFC 0-1 SAN DIEGO FC
Aug 15, 2026
Att. 22,810 • BMO Stadium
LOS ANGELES — After a week-long break and heartbreaking exit from the Leagues Cup, LAFC was right back in MLS, where they face off against San Diego FC in week 20 of the season. LAFC who stands in second place in the Western Conference, finds themselves in an important game that can determine their standing in the playoffs, as they are one point back of first-place Houston Dynamo. The pregame atmosphere was very fiery, with fans of both teams launching explicit chants at each other until kickoff, both determined to be much louder and give their teams a mental advantage.
LAFC came out hot and fast as forward Son Heung-Min looked to immediately give the home team a 1-0 lead when his shot was just off target, hitting the side of the net for the game’s first shot. Until the 21’st minute, LAFC looked to keep their foot on the gas with their relentless attack as forward Denis Bouanga beat out San Diego FC keeper CJ Dos Santos as they both sprinted for the ball, only for Bouanga to beat out Dos Santos and put it in the back of the net for the 1-0 lead and his 11th goal of the season. That was until the referee chose to head to VAR and rule the goal off due to a handball by Bouanga just a few seconds prior to the goal. LAFC had one more close attempt at taking the lead in the 35th minute, off a counter-attack, Bouanga broke into the box and threaded the ball to Son for what looked like a sure tap-in; just for San Diego FC defender Luca Bombino to get there just in time, sliding to deflect the ball and prevent Son from scoring. Both teams headed into halftime tied at zero goals apiece as San Diego FC maintained 62% possession while LAFC had 38% and plenty of chances to score but failed to do so.
In the 53rd minute of the second half, Son looked sure to score as he was one-on-one against keeper Dos Santos following a mistake made on the pass from the defense being recovered by LAFC and passed through onto Son, only to find himself missing the goal as it sailed past the right post off of Son’s left foot. Later on in the 71st minute, Dos Santos continued to have an outstanding game and was one of the key reasons the game remained tied. Dos Santos punched away a ball crossed into the box and followed up with another huge save, denying LAFC’s defender Eddie Segura’s header moments after. In the late stages of the game, drama arose as, in the 86th minute off a corner, substitute Jeppe Tverskov’s header made contact with defender Ryan Porteous’s hand, prompting the referee to head to VAR and call a penalty in favor of San Diego FC seconds later. Forward Anders Dreyer would make the penalty into the left side as Lloris would dive the wrong way to his right, giving San Diego the 1-0 lead and his eighth goal of the season in the late minutes of the match. With five minutes of additional time, Dreyer would find himself on the wrong side of a red card in the 95th minute as he slid towards Son in order to prevent LAFC from generating any chance at tying the game. LAFC failed to do so as they would fall 1-0 at home to San Diego FC. A tight win for San Diego that saw LAFC unable to capitalize on numerous chances that would’ve won them the game and three points.
The loss drops LAFC to third place in the Western Conference while San Diego remains at twelfth place. The loss also sees LAFC’s unbeaten streak of eight games in all competitions come to an end, a streak that began on July 17th of this year. With the win, San Diego also remains undefeated against LAFC in their short history against each other, bringing them to 3 wins and only 1 draw against LAFC. San Diego will look to continue their momentum with this win when they face off against the Portland Timbers on the road next Wednesday; meanwhile, LAFC will look to recover from this loss as they head to Colorado to face the Rapids next Wednesday as well.
