Son Heung-min ends goal drought as LAFC beats Galaxy 3-0

Son Heung-min scored his first Major League Soccer goal of the season on Friday night as Los Angeles Football Club defeated the LA Galaxy 3-0 in the 27th edition of El Tráfico, the rivalry's official fixture. Playing at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, Son netted in the 57th minute after receiving a pass from Mark Delgado, breaking a lengthy goalless streak in league play despite having scored twice in the Concacaf Champions Cup earlier in the season.

The victory was driven by a dominant LAFC performance. Mark Delgado opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a header, converting a rebound after his initial attempt was blocked. Denis Bouanga doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time from the penalty spot, extending a historic personal streak: he has now scored in his last seven consecutive meetings against the Galaxy, the longest such streak in the rivalry's history. Bouanga, who converted despite goalkeeper Novak Micovic getting a hand on the ball, has 11 goals in 10 career matches against the Galaxy across all competitions and leads LAFC with six MLS goals this season.

Son, who turned 34 on July 8, was returning to LAFC action for the first time since South Korea's group-stage elimination from the FIFA World Cup at the end of June. Korea finished with one win and two losses in Group A. The forward attributed his successful return to the mental reset provided by the international break. "I got to spend some quality time with quality people back home, and I was able to recover mentally," Son said. "I know I had a long drought, but I wasn't worried. My focus was always on the level of my performance." He remains tied for the MLS lead with nine assists.

Regarding the penalty kick in the 45th minute, Son deferred to Bouanga despite appearing ready to take it himself, describing it as an intentional mind game. "He had been the penalty taker long before I got here," Son explained. "He fully deserved to take the penalty. I wanted him to feel comfortable there." Son joined LAFC in August 2025.

The result evened the all-time series between the clubs at 10-10-7. LAFC improved to 8-5-3 (27 points), placing them third in the Western Conference, while LA Galaxy (5-6-5) had entered the match unbeaten in their previous three meetings with LAFC. LAFC will next host Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, while the Galaxy host St. Louis on the same day.