Los Angeles FC is currently sitting at 53 points, good enough for fourth place in the Western Conference. With four matches left, it is only four points behind first-place San Diego FC.
The Black and Gold won all of their matches in September and are riding a four-game win streak as they head to the final stretch of the regular season.
The bottom line for this LAFC team throughout the season is that ever since the arrival of Son Heung-Min, it has been able to outscore all of its opponents, but are never able to fully manage its games.
Without looking at their most recent match, in a road win against St. Louis City, LAFC has been consistently dominated on the stats sheets. Additionally, LAFC has lately allowed its opponents to score early or equalize, forcing LAFC to find a second goal either right before or after halftime to regain momentum.
When looking at this season’s stats for LAFC, it is projected to score two goals per game, but also concede 1.23 goals as well. Essentially, based upon these numbers, plus LAFC’s recent trend of allowing their opponents to get a goal back, proves a lack of control within the side.
As the MLS playoffs approach, there is a concern around LAFC that it may be too dependent on Son and Denis Bouanga.
Just two weeks ago, in LAFC’s match against Real Salt Lake, winger Bouanga became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer. Last week, forward Son and Bouanga made MLS history, as they became the first duo to score a goal in at least 17 consecutive matches.
The duo’s individual performances have brought it into top form, propelling it towards the top of the Western Conference. The question looms, though, of whether or not Son and Bouanga can continue to drag LAFC to wins, and potentially an MLS Cup.
For their next match, LAFC will host Atlanta United at home this Sunday, as the Black and Gold hope to make it five wins in a row.