LAFC dubbed "superteam" after Son & Bouanga dominate Austin FC | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

The Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos celebrations were done and dusted by the time the match kicked off at Q2 Stadium. But Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min still had a few more doses of terror to inflict at the close of North America’s spookiest weekend.

LAFC’s devastating duo haunted the Austin FC back line in frightful fashion Sunday night, each humbling defenders with nasty solo finishes after the other had served up assists in trademark transition situations, to vault the visitors ahead by two goals before half an hour had passed.

It laid the foundation for an ultimately comfortable 4-1 victory that clinched a Round One sweep for LAFC and advanced them to a tasty Western Conference Semifinal date with Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Thomas Müller.

Afterwards, Bouanga emphatically confirmed the Black & Gold’s belief that this formula can and will power them to winning MLS Cup presented by Audi on Dec. 6.

“The answer is yes, and with no hesitation,” the Gabonese international said via a French translator after scoring his 100th and 101st goals for the club.

“There is a great team spirit right now. All the team is together, but the most important thing right now in playoffs is to take it game after game. With Sonny, with myself and with the team, we think we can do big things. The team is very dynamic.”

Trademark Son

Son made the night’s first incision, breaking clear on a lightning-fast transition that ended with the South Korean icon bewitching Ilie Sánchez with a swift stepover before firing a clinical left-footed strike into the bottom corner. Just three minutes later, Bouanga held the knife when Son wreaked havoc down the right channel and squared it to his teammate for a simple finish.

A 2022 analysis by The Athletic concluded that Son was the most two-footed goalscorer in English Premier League history, with 44 percent of his Tottenham Hotspur goals up to that point scored with his supposedly weaker left peg. Here, Austin learned why that’s a recipe for torment.

“I probably know him even better than everybody, because I spent 10 years at Spurs with him, every day in training, and also we play so many games together,” said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris postgame. “We know when he's in 1v1 he can go on the right, on the left. He has no problem to shoot with [both] feet, and that's why he's got all those personal records.

“It's not only about what he's doing on the field, it’s also off the field. He's been fantastic for the team and really ambitious and really hungry, and he can transmit this desire to win to our teammates.”

One-two punch

LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo, an accomplished right back during his own playing days, sounded almost sympathetic.

“Against great players like Sonny, you're not going to stop him every time. But what you can do is minimize the probability of his chances or the probability of him scoring, and you can minimize the quality of his chances,” said Cherundolo. “Putting him on his weak foot isn't really a weak foot. So I would recommend to defenders to try to make plays outside the box.

“Our tactical approach and the implementation of that from our guys was really good,” noted the former USMNT defender, who shifted his side into a 4-3-3 shape with Nathan Ordaz working as a third forward alongside the superstar partnership, and reaped the benefits.

“If we're a little cleaner with our passing in the second half, we had really good moments to just put the nail in the coffin a little earlier than we did.”

LAFC "superteam"

Speaking of coffins, Austin’s nightmare darkened that much further just before halftime. After Myrto Uzuni failed to convert a penalty kick that would’ve halved the deficit, Bouanga slipped past Oleksandr Svatok, tormented Brendan Hines-Ike with a vicious cutback that left the center back sprawled on the turf, and slammed his second past Brad Stuver from close range.

ATX boss Nico Estévez saw the damage unfolding from a collective loss of awareness about the fundamental differences between the sides, his Verde & Black feeling compelled to push the issue following their narrow Game 1 defeat in Los Angeles.

“My fear today stemmed from what happened after the press conference the other day,” he lamented in Spanish at this cold conclusion to Austin’s season, “when everyone was saying we had to be more aggressive, go on the attack, and all that, without knowing the reality that we were playing against the best counterattacking team in the league, with the two best counterattacking players in the league.

“Our players got caught up in that excitement, that message, instead of being disciplined like we were there. And that's what made us lose today: not having enough discipline and not being able to understand that we were playing against a superteam, as I said the other day – because they are a superteam, and I'm not saying that sarcastically … We lacked the humility to know who we were facing, and it's my responsibility to make that clear to the players.”

LAFC put on a show to advance past Round One

Heading north

LAFC and Vancouver will have three weeks to prepare for their upcoming clash at BC Place. Though in the meantime, Bouanga, Son and others will depart for international duty in the November FIFA window.

“The players are locked in and focused,” said Cherundolo.

“Yes, it's a longer bridge of time to get through, but we'll make the most of it. Our players will be ready in Vancouver.”

WATCH: Bouanga & Son masterclass sends LAFC past Austin FC