The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) extended their winning streak to six after their 2-0 victory over Minnesota United FC.
At the 38th minute, forward Dénis Bouanga converted a penalty, launching the ball to the bottom right corner of the net. This was his 50th goal with the Black and Gold, putting him in an elite fraternity with Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi.
Bouanga credits his teammates and staff for his success.
“They left a mark on the club so I’m really happy that I’m a part of it,” Bouanga said via a translator. “I hate to lose, so I’m trying to be decisive at the maximum every game as a result of really hard work and training and because of my teammates I can be really happy today because we won.”
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Bouanga currently paces the MLS with 78 shots and 29 shots on target.
Midfielder Mateusz Bogusz scored in the 82nd minute with a shot from outside the box. While Bogusz normally plays at a midfielder, he can also play as a striker.
“That first couple of games, I was adapting,” Bogusz said. “We already played 15 games so for me now, it doesn’t matter if I play number nine or number eight. Number nine I have more freedom.”
The win moves LAFC up to third place in the Western Conference with an 8-4-3 overall record while Minnesota falls from second to fourth place with a 7-3-4 overall record.
“It’s making good decisions with the ball whether you’re moving it forward, not risking too much of build-up play,” said head coach Steve Cherundolo. “At the same time also trying to be effective and control games, control transitions, defend critical areas and defensive organizations.”
LAFC got better after the half, they had 315 ball possession phases after intermission compared to the 306 in the first phase. Passing accuracy increased to 82 percent in the second half and the team took eight shots instead of the six they took early on.
“The changes we talked about at halftime we’re not so much changes but making the guys aware of what makes us dangerous and it is isolating their center backs with their wingers,” Cherundolo said. “And we found both of our wingers in better positions in the second half and it made it more clear for us, we had clearer chances, putting them in tough spots.
This is the sixth time this season that the LAFC kept their opponent from scoring. The LAFC returns to BMO Stadium on Saturday to battle FC Dallas at 7:30 P.M.
