LAFC Host San Diego in a West-coast Showdown | OneFootball

Sunday, August 31st @ 10:45pmStreaming on MLS Season PassBroadcast locally in the LA region.

First place San Diego FC make the short (in mileage) trip north up the 101 to BMO Stadium to face LAFC in an epic Western Conference showdown. This will be the final MLS league play before the International Break starts on Monday.

All Eyes on Son

This fixture will mark the home debut for Son Heung-Min, LAFC’s marquee transfer from Tottenham Hotspur. So far Son has appeared in LAFC’s last three games, two of these as a starter. In his 209 minutes on the pitch, he scored against FC Dallas, assisted on a goal at New England, and drew the late penalty kick that equalized at Chicago Fire.

Son-mania has seized Los Angeles; his merchandise is flying off the shelves. He also proved to be good with his arms, as his ceremonial pitch in the LA Dodgers game went right over the plate. The club also announced via press release that all remaining home games will feature live Korean-language broadcasting on ​​KYPA 1230 AM, a local radio station.

Los Angeles is home to one of the largest Korean communities outside of the Korean peninsula. The Koreatown (aka K-Town) neighborhood, only a few miles west of downtown, is noted for its vibrant nightlife, food and bar scene.

But Son Ain’t the Only One

But there’s much more to LAFC’s attack than Son. Denis Bouanga, the Gabonese striker, is sitting on fourteen goals for the season. He’s also closing down two big records. The first is club legend Carlos Vela’s goal scoring record. Bouanga’s total is 89, and five more will pull him level. If he scores six, not only would this place Bouanga above Vela, it would also make him the first player in MLS history to score 20 or more goals in three consecutive seasons. LAFC have eight more games (including this one) in their regular season.

More History

In their first meeting back in Matchweek 6, San Diego FC held off a surging LAFC to win 3 – 2. San Diego became the first MLS team in any conference to secure a playoff spot last weekend. They’ve since been joined by Philadelphia Union, who defeated FC Cincinnati last night 3 – 0.