LOS ANGELES - A sold-out crowd at BMO Stadium came to celebrate Son Heung-Min's anticipated home debut for LAFC.
San Diego FC crashed the party.
Major League Soccer’s newest team sent that raucous crowd home in disappointment on Sunday night with a 2-1 comeback victory.
“Impacting the flow of the game was going to be really important,” explained head coach Mikey Varas postgame. “They're a top team. We knew the environment was going to be tough, Son’s first home game, so there was going to be a lot of electricity around this game…
“In these games, you've got to be ruthless in both boxes. It's not just about attacking plays, but it's also about making big blocks, big defensive actions. And if you think you're not going to have to do that, you're not going to win very often.”
Expansion history
With the victory, SDFC tied St. Louis CITY SC for the most wins by an expansion team in MLS history (17), one point away from tying LAFC (57) for the expansion points record.
The win was also their seventh straight away triumph, tying the league record for the longest single-season road winning streak in just their first-ever season.
“I think that's what we dreamt of in the beginning of the season, that we wanted to create something magical this season,” said Anders Dreyer, who scored the winning goal. “We wanted to show California that we are the best team.”
The Chrome & Azul did exactly that, handing LAFC their first loss of the league season when scoring first to complete the season sweep over both Los Angeles rivals and extend their record against California opposition to a perfect 5-0.
So, does it feel like one of the biggest wins of San Diego’s incredible inaugural season?
“Yeah, I think so. For me, it does,” affirmed Dreyer. ”You can hear the cheering in the dressing room as well. It was a very nice, very important win, especially after getting behind and then making a comeback, but also it's a difficult place to play.”
Devastating duo
Although most of the night’s focus was on Son’s home debut and his partner Denis Bouanga reaching the 15-goal mark for a third consecutive season, it was the SDFC attacking duo that made the biggest impact with goals from Dreyer and fellow Designated Player Chucky Lozano.
“Their talent always shines through when the collective is [humming]. These guys are guys with a lot of talent. They also work really hard,” praised Varas. “You see, they press and they run back and they defend low, and they do the little things, and we know when they do those little things, their talent will shine through. I think they've been great.”
Assisting Lozano for his equalizer, Dreyer extended his lead atop the MLS goal contribution charts to 32 contributions (14g/18a), three above Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi (19g/10a), as he continues to make his Landon Donovan MLS MVP case on the field. He’s too humble to make the argument for himself off the pitch, but fortunately, his teammates are happy to do that for him.
“MVP for Anders Dreyer! That's my guy. The numbers don't lie. The performances don't lie,” goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos said.
“He's a big, big part of this team, and we want to do everything in our power to just spur him forward and to give him the best chance possible to get that award because I believe he deserves it.”
