LAFC staged a dramatic comeback to earn a hard-fought, 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls at BMO Stadium on Saturday night. Denis Bouanga's second half double gained the Black & Gold a point after a first-half own goal and Emil Forsberg's 81st-minute strike twice put LAFC behind the eight ball.
LAFC is now 3-3-3 on the season for 12 points and sits in 9th place in the Western Conference.
Calamity struck early for the Black & Gold, who lost centerback Aaron Long not 10 minutes into the match. Long, who had gone the full 90 in all of LAFC's matches to start the season, crashed into the goalpost after making a terrific recovery and block to deny MLS assist leader Dante Vanzeir's close-range shot.
Eddie Segura replaced Long in the 8th minute and was terribly unlucky to misdirect his attempted clearance of a Red Bulls corner into the LAFC net on the restart after Long's withdrawal.
Although it was a long road back to even, the Black & Gold navigated it well, working down the Red Bulls defense until midway through the second half. Bouanga drew a penalty kick after getting past NYRB defender Sean Nealis in the 63rd minute. The Frenchman then rifled his spot kick into the right side of the net to draw the game level at 1-1 in the 67th minute.
From there, LAFC turned the screw on the visitors as they chased a winning goal, but Forsberg stabbed home a loose ball from a corner kick in the 81st minute to make it 2-1 and give the home side yet another mountain to climb.
But respond they would in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Bouanga sent a blast through heavy traffic in the Red Bulls' penalty area that found its way into the right side of the goal to make it 2-2 and reward his and his teammate's' efforts with a hard-won result.
LAFC returns to action on Saturday, April 27, when the Portland Timbers make a quick return trip to BMO Stadium after the two squads recently tied 2-2 on April 13, in the Rose City. That game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. PT, can be seen live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and on 710 AM ESPN LA, 980 AM La Mera Mera (Esp) and SiriusXM FC.
NEWS & NOTES
- LAFC is now 2-1-1 all-time against the Red Bulls, including 2-0-1 at BMO Stadium.
- This was the first meeting between these two sides that did not end with a win for the home team.
- LAFC remained unbeaten at home this season, earning 11 of its 12 points in the standings courtesy of a 3-0-2 home record.
- After using the same starting lineup in each of the previous four games, LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo was forced to make two changes to his lineup tonight with Eduard Atuesta missing the game through suspension and Jesus Murillo missing out with a knee injury. They were replaced by Kei Kamara and Maxime Chanot respectively.
- Both Kamara and Chanot made their first career starts for LAFC.
- The Red Bulls took a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute. That was the first time this season that LAFC had trailed at home.
- Denis Bouanga scored twice for LAFC, giving him five goals on the season. All five have come at home.
- Bouanga now has two multi-goal games this season, having also scored twice in the 5-0 win over Nashville SC on March 23.
- Bouanga now has 13 multi-goal games in all competitions for LAFC, including eight multi-goal games in the MLS regular season, two in Concacaf Champions Cup play, two in Leagues Cup, and one in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
- Bouanga’s first goal of the game was his 45th in all competitions for LAFC.
- He is now 6-for-6 all-time on penalty kicks in the regular season, going 3-for-3 in 2023 and 3-for-3 this season. He is also 1-for-1 from the spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
- Sergi Palencia was credited with an assist on Bouanga’s late game-tying goal. That was his second assist of the season and first since March 23 against Nashville. The two assists equal Palencia’s total from 2023, his first season with LAFC.
- Ilie Sanchez made the 220th appearance of his MLS career in the game, while Ryan Hollingshead started his 205th game.
- LAFC2 standout Luis Müller came on for LAFC in the 89th minute to make his MLS debut.
- This was the first game this season in which LAFC scored without Timothy Tillman registering a goal or an assist.
