Galaxy’s Unbeaten Home El Tráfico Record Put to the Test Against LAFC on Sunday
Led by a hot start from Dénis Bouanga, LAFC are unbeaten in 2023 through six games (4-0-2), but still are searching for their first road victory of the season. The Black and Gold’s next opportunity to win away from home comes against crosstown rivals, the LA Galaxy, at Dignity Health Sports Park this Sunday in the first El Tráfico of the season (4:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass / FOX).
Despite LAFC’s success since entering MLS, the club has yet to beat their cross-city foes on the road, going 0-5-2 in the seven all-time regular-season meetings. In fact, the Galaxy have poured in goals against LAFC at home, scoring at least two in five of the seven meetings at Dignity Health Sports Park. To turn their fortunes around, LAFC will hope Carlos Vela can get on the scoresheet and pass Zlatan Ibrahimović (eight) for the most goals in El Tráfico history.
The Galaxy are hoping the return of Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández can spark a team that has managed just three goals in the first six matches in 2023. Hernández came off the bench at Houston on Saturday and played 35 minutes in his first action since a preseason injury. Chicharito scored the opening goal in the Galaxy’s 2-1 home victory over LAFC last season on April 9. Can he provide the much-needed boost in the Galaxy’s biggest game of the season thus far?
LAFC's Dénis Bouanga Skyrockets Up Early-Season MVP Leaderboard
The defending MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Football Club entered the season with a singular goal: to add more trophies to their rapidly filling trophy case. Despite adding star-power to their roster during the offseason in the form of Stipe Biuk and Aaron Long among others, a second-year sensation, Dénis Bouanga, has been the driving force behind LAFC’s unbeaten start to the season.
The 28-year-old forward has scored 11 goals in nine games across all competitions, including his first career MLS hat trick against Austin FC on Matchday 7. Bouanga continues to stack brilliant performances with four multi-goal games in his last eight matches across all competitions and earned high praise from his head coach Steve Cherundolo following his dominating performance last week.
"He’s obviously confident, he’s scoring some great goals," Cherundolo said. "I don’t think there’s a lot of coaching going on with a player of Dénis’ quality. The guy just scores."
His superb scoring form has also been instrumental in the success of LAFC in the Concacaf Champions League (CCL), as he has scored five of the club’s seven goals across the first three matches in CCL play. Bouanga and LAFC will look to punch their ticket to the CCL semifinals in the second leg against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Tuesday night (10:15 p.m. ET). LAFC leads 3-0 on aggregate.
On Sunday, Bouanga will look to continue cementing his place in El Tráfico lore as LAFC travels to face the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park. In his first career matchup against the Galaxy, the Gabonese international scored two goals in the club’s 3-2 victory in the 2022 Western Conference Semifinals -- the second-ever meeting between the two clubs in the playoffs.
Timbers Going for Cascadia Rivalry Record Against Jordan Morris and Seattle
Seattle Sounders FC’s Jordan Morris continues to set the pace for the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi, but now enters a Pacific Northwest rivalry match against the Portland Timbers on Saturday night (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass). In Morris’ 14 career regular-season matches against Portland, he has only scored one time, which was his first trip to Providence Park on August 28, 2016 (Watch Here).
Morris’ sensational start to 2023 has coincided with him transitioning into a central striker role, one he succeeded at earlier in his MLS career. As a result, it has helped players like Léo Chú (one goal, five assists), Josh Atencio (game-winning goal vs. St. Louis), and Nicolás Lodeiro (four assists) settle into their own roles behind him. In a scoreless game against St. Louis on Matchday 7, Seattle was even provided with the unique opportunity to substitute on Raúl Ruidíaz, who ultimately scored the second goal in the club’s 3-0 victory over St. Louis CITY SC.
The Timbers have proven to be a tough matchup for Seattle since Giovanni Savarese took over in 2017, going 8-5-1 in that span. Portland has won the last three matches against the Sounders by a combined 7-1 aggregate and no team has ever won four-straight games in the series. With Evander and Franck Boli close to reaching full fitness, the Timbers can jumpstart their season by making Cascadia Cup history on Saturday evening.
Supporters’ Shield-Leading FC Cincinnati, Led by St. Louis Native Pat Noonan, Make First Visit to CITYPARK
With a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia on Matchday 7, FC Cincinnati, who sits atop both the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield tables with 17 points (5-0-2), joined LAFC (4-0-2) as the only two remaining unbeatens in MLS this season. As part of their early-season success, Cincinnati has proven to be one of the most difficult teams to face on the road this season, as they are unbeaten (3-0-6) in their last nine matches played away from TQL Stadium.
On Matchday 8, FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan, who was born and raised in St. Louis, will return to his hometown looking to help his club maintain their pole position in the Eastern Conference. Noonan starred at the renowned Saint Louis Scott Gallagher soccer club during his youth, a team that now competes in MLS NEXT.
“It’s going to be a town that supports its soccer team like it has for the Cardinals and the Blues," said Noonan when St. Louis was selected as the home of the 29th MLS club. "A loyal fan base, one win or lose they’ll be out there to support their team. The hope is to gain real momentum to make it one of the premier soccer clubs and communities.”
After opening the year with the strongest start by an expansion side in MLS history, St. Louis CITY SC returns home after dropping their last two contests and will look to regain their winning ways against Cincinnati (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
By the Numbers
From youthful records set by Jesús Ferreira andCarlos Gómez to historic goal-scoring from the Columbus Crew and Kei Kamara, below is a sampling of notable stats and figures entering Matchday 8.
- 2: Real Salt Lake’s Carlos Gómez produced two assists in their 3-1 victory over Charlotte FC on Saturday. At 20 years and 208 days old, Gomez is the second-youngest player in club history with multiple assists in a match (Jordan Allen – 20 years and 13 days).
- 17: The Columbus Crew lead Major League Soccer with 17 goals this season, the highest goal-total through the first seven games of a season in club history. Only three teams in MLS history have scored more goals than the Crew in the first seven games of a season: 2019 LAFC (21 goals), 1998 LA Galaxy (20 goals), and 2019 Toronto FC (19 goals). Each of those three teams advanced to at least the Conference Finals in their respective seasons, with Toronto FC advancing to the 2019 MLS Cup.
- 20: San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Cristian Espinoza leads MLS with 20 key passes this season and is one of only three players with at least four goals and 15 key passes this season, joining Atlanta’s Thiago Almada (four goals, 18 KP) and Dallas’ Jesús Ferreira (four goals, 15 KP).
- 40: With his goal on Matchday 7, FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira (22 years, 105 days old) became the youngest player in MLS history to reach 40 career regular-season goals, besting the previous record set by Cyle Larin, who accomplished the feat at 22 years, 110 days old while with Orlando City. Ferreira is one of only five players to score 40 goals in MLS prior to turning 23 years old, joining Larin, Diego Rossi, Diego Fagúndez, and Stern John.
- 142: Following his brace on Matchday 7 – the 22nd multi-score game of his career – Chicago Fire forward Kei Kamara has 142 career regular-season goals and trails only Chris Wondolowski (171) and Landon Donovan (145) for the most in MLS history.
Tap-ins: Matchday 8
A look at other headlines and activity around Major League Soccer ahead of Matchday 8:
- Who were the best young-player performers in MLS Matchday 7? (MLSsoccer.com)
- 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup: Host cities and stadiums (MLSsoccer.com)
- Remo Stars FC conclude experience at the 2023 Generation adidas Cup (Beyond Limits FA on Twitter)
MLS Season Pass Broadcast Schedule: Matchday 8
Below is the MLS Season Pass broadcast schedule for Matchday 8, including English-language commentators for each match with the play-by-play talent listed first, followed by the match analyst.
How to Cover MLS in 2023
To assist in your coverage of the 2023 MLS season, the MLS Communications staff has provided the following media resources, all of which are available on MLSSoccer.com/Media-Resources.
- 2023 MLS Fact and Record Book | Link
- 2023 MLS Statistics and Standings | Link
- Weekly Club Game Notes | Link
- MLS PR on Twitter | Link
