"Finally, It Happened!" Son Heung-min Ends Eight-Match Scoring Drought with One Goal and One Assist in One-Man Show

[Financial News] Son Heung-min, the “ace” of Major League Soccer (MLS) side Los Angeles FC (LAFC), ended his lengthy scoring drought with a goal and an assist in a one-man show. However, LAFC once again failed to secure a win after exposing its chronic defensive problems.
LAFC drew 2-2 with Salt Lake in an away match in the 2026 MLS regular season at America First Field in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the 6th (Korea time).
LAFC, which has failed to win in six consecutive league matches recently—four draws and two losses—remained third in the Western Conference with 37 points. It still trails first-place Vancouver Whitecaps FC by six points, with the leaders on 43. Salt Lake, meanwhile, sits 10th in the Western Conference with 29 points.
Son Heung-min was unquestionably the star of the match. In the 14th minute, he set up the opening goal. Denis Bouanga received Son’s precise left-footed through ball, drove forward on a solo run from the halfway line, beat the opposing defenders, and found the net with a sharp curling right-footed shot. It was Son’s first goal contribution in eight matches, since the Vancouver Whitecaps FC game on the 2nd of last month.
After LAFC conceded an equalizer to Saba Lobzhanidze in the 18th minute, Son came to the rescue again. In the 38th minute, Bouanga, who had scored the opener, broke down the opposing flank and delivered a cutback. Son charged into the box and finished with a clean first-time left-footed shot to give LAFC a 2-1 lead.



It was Son’s fifth league goal and seventh goal of the season, ending an eight-match scoring drought in official competitions. He has now recorded five goals and 11 assists in the regular season, and seven goals and 18 assists across all official competitions this season, including the Champions Cup.
However, LAFC’s defensive organization gradually began to unravel in the second half. The defense retreated under Salt Lake’s relentless waves of attacks, and Noel Kalliskan eventually pounced on a loose ball parried away by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris during a scramble to make it 2-2.
Desperate for a win, LAFC launched an all-out attack late in the second half. In particular, in the 88th minute, Son brilliantly beat even the opposing goalkeeper during a sharp counterattack and attempted a decisive right-footed shot toward the open goal. But DeAndre Yedlin’s dramatic sliding tackle, as he threw his body in front of the ball, denied him and left Son frustrated. The match ended in a 2-2 draw with no further goals.


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