Son Heung-min scored in his second consecutive Major League Soccer (MLS) match, easing the disappointment of his early exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
Son started against Real Salt Lake in a 2026 MLS home game held at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on the 23rd (Korean time), recording one goal and one assist to lead LAFC to a 3-1 victory.
Playing 72 minutes, Son was involved in all three of the team's goals.
In his first game after the World Cup, the "LA Derby" against LA Galaxy on the 18th (a 3-0 win), Son netted a clinching goal to finally register his first league goal of the season. He continued his rising scoring form by finding the net against Salt Lake City as well.
Son's tally for the season rose to four goals, with two goals (10 assists) in the MLS and two goals (seven assists) in eight matches in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Riding on Son's performance, LAFC won its third straight game to hold third place in the Western Conference with 30 points (9 wins, 3 draws, 5 losses). Salt Lake, having played two fewer games, sat with 26 points (8 wins, 2 draws, 5 losses).
Playing as one of three forwards, Son took a long ball from the back that Jacob Shaffelburg passed on in the 11th minute of the first half, carried it to the edge of the penalty arc, and drilled a left-footed shot into the net.
LAFC extended the gap with a goal from Denis Bouanga in the 40th minute of the first half. On a counterattack, the ball went through Son to Mathieu Choinière, who threaded it into the space behind the opposing defense. Bouanga surged in to collect it, beat a defender, and connected with a right-footed shot.
Under the MLS "secondary assist" rule (a pass in the stage just before the final pass leading to a goal), Son added an assist, becoming the first to reach 10 league assists this season.
Son drew an own goal from the opponent that became the clinching goal in the 23rd minute of the second half. When David Martínez slipped the ball into space, Son cut in to the right inside the penalty area and delivered a cross that struck opposing defender DeAndre Yedlin and went into the Salt Lake goal.
Son then left the field in the 27th minute of the second half, replaced by Jeremy Ebobisse. LAFC, which later also substituted Bouanga, conceded a consolation goal to Lukas Engel on a corner kick in the 41st minute of the second half, but held onto its two-goal lead to secure a valuable three points.
