Heung-Min Son needed barely six matches to show Los Angeles FC’s record signing was money well spent. In a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, the South Korean forward struck three times, leaving no doubt he came to Major League Soccer ready to be a leading man from day one. The result kept LAFC firmly in the fight near the top of the Western Conference and gave the club the kind of assurance that Son could be the difference down the stretch.
The match that turned into Son’s first real showcase
The game had hardly started when Tillman fought for a ball in midfield, spotted the gap, and slipped it through to Son. His low shot to Rafael Cabral’s left corner opened the scoring just three minutes in. Before the first half was done, wearing the No. 7 shirt, he found room again, this time letting fly from outside the box. It was in the back of the net, and LAFC had a 2-0 cushion. Real Salt Lake tried to mount a comeback after halftime, with Zavier Gozo pulling one back, but the spotlight never shifted. In the 82nd minute, Denis Bouanga sparked a counter, played him in at the right moment, and Son calmly finished for his third. Bouanga then added his own goal minutes later to wrap up a 4-1 result, one of LAFC’s most convincing wins of the season.
Son shows why he became the league’s most expensive signing
That hat trick wasn’t just a good performance, it underlined how quickly Son has settled into American soccer. Since arriving in August, the forward has collected five goals and one assist in only six games. Those numbers already justify the €22.4 million spent to bring him in. On the pitch, his link-up with Bouanga is becoming a real weapon. Between the two of them, they’ve scored LAFC’s last eight goals. In the previous match Bouanga hit a hat trick and Son added one. Against Real Salt Lake, the roles flipped, but the chemistry stayed intact.
Bouanga had a milestone of his own to celebrate. The Gabonese striker hit his 94th goal for LAFC, moving past Carlos Vela and becoming the club’s all-time top scorer. The timing couldn’t have been more symbolic: the very match Bouanga took the record books for himself was also the evening Son truly announced his arrival in Los Angeles.
The victory lifted LAFC to 13 wins, 7 losses and 8 draws, good for 47 points and fourth place in the Western Conference. They sit only five points behind Vancouver in third and still hold games in hand over a couple of rivals. That math leaves plenty of room to dream of a late push. With Son in this kind of form, LAFC suddenly looks like a team ready to make it count.