The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) registered its biggest win of the 2021 season with a convincing 4-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Friday night at Banc of California Stadium. Central defender Mamadou Fall headed in a goal on either side of halftime, while Colombians Cristian Arango and Eduard Atuesta each added goals in the final 20 minutes to give LAFC the win. The win ended LAFC’s eight-game winless streak, and was the club’s first win since July 17 and was first clean sheet since June 7. LAFC is now 7-9-6 on the season for 27 points, leaving it tied with Real Salt Lake for seventh place in the Western Conference.
Despite having to make five changes to the starting lineup due to injury and national team call-ups from last weekend’s 3-3 draw with the Galaxy, a short-handed LAFC side was able to take a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute when Fall, an 18-year-old defender making just his seventh appearance and fourth start of the season, headed in an Eduard Atuesta corner kick for the first goal of his MLS career, giving LAFC a 1-0 advantage that they took into the halftime break.
In the second half, Sporting Kansas City was reduced to 10-men when midfielder Roger Espinoza was shown a red card in the 58th minute following video review for a foul on Cristian Arango. Just three minutes later, Atuesta and Fall teamed up again to double the LAFC lead. Atuesta’s freekick found Fall, who headed the ball back across the face of goal and just inside the post, giving LAFC a 2-0 advantage. With the goal, Fall became the youngest player in club history to score twice in a game, and the first defender to do so since Walker Zimmerman scored both goals in a 2-0 home win over San Jose on Sept. 22, 2018.
Before last weekend’s 3-3 draw with the LA Galaxy, LAFC had not scored more than two goals in a game all season. But in the 71st minute, the club exceeded that tally for the second straight game as Arango, who scored in his home debut on Saturday, made it two goals in as many games at Banc of California Stadium. Capitalizing on a Kansas City turnover, Danny Musovski raced onto a pass from Bryce Duke before centering for Arango, who hit a right-footed shot past Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia, making the score 3-0.
Eduard Atuesta added a fourth in the 87th minute, converting a penalty kick after Musovski had been taken down inside the area to round out the victory.
At the other end of the field, LAFC goalkeeper Tomas Romero made four saves for his fourth clean sheet of the season.
LAFC returns to action on Sunday, September 11 when it hosts Real Salt Lake at Banc of California Stadium. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live locally in English on My13 KCOP and in Spanish on Estrella TV.
WHAT: Mamadou Fall scores twice as LAFC snaps eight-game winless streak with emphatic 4-0 home win over Sporting Kansas City.
