Denis Bouanga scored his second hat trick in three games to make some unique MLS history and lift LAFC to a 4-1 victory over visiting Real Salt Lake on Sunday evening.
Bouanga’s 20th, 21st and 22nd goals made him the first player in the league’s 30-year lifespan to equal or surpass 20 goals in three consecutive seasons and moved him even with Lionel Messi atop the MLS Golden Boot leaderboard.
Son Heung-min also scored his sixth goal in his seventh MLS match and had two assists for fourth-place LAFC (14-7-8, 50 points), which moved five points above fifth-place Seattle in the Western Conference and within four of third-place Minnesota, which has played two more matches.
Either Bouanga or Son has scored each of LAFC’s 14 goals in a five-match run, including all 12 in a recent three-match winning streak.
Brayan Vera’s early strike from distance gave Salt Lake (10-16-4, 34 points) an early lead. But the visitors’ early advantage turned into a 2-1 deficit after a pair of goals in first-half stoppage time, before LAFC pulled away after the break.
Salt Lake remains 12th in the Western Conference and three points beneath the playoff line after a second loss in five days to LAFC, the previous also a 4-1 affair played in Utah.
Bouanga leveled in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, playing a tidy give-and-go with Son to advance into the penalty area before sliding a low shot past Rafael Cabral from close range.
Son followed with his latest exceptional effort from distance, taking a layoff from David Martinez and then guiding a 20-yard strike low off the inside of the left post beyond Cabral’s dive.
Son and Andrew Moran combined on a clever, quick passing sequence to play Bouanga again behind the back line in the 73rd minute for his second of the evening.
With Son already summoned for an early exit, Bouanga’s hat trick was complete on another similar looking tally in the 87th minute, this time with Jeremy Ebobisse providing the service.
Vera put Salt Lake in front with a blistering 25-yard effort that beat Hugo Lloris’ dive to the top left corner.
That completed a bright start through the opening 15 minutes for RSL, but the game flow quickly turned, with LAFC forcing Cabral into three saves and also striking the woodwork before finding Bouanga’s leveler.
–Field Level Media
