Son Heung-min of Los Angeles Football Club directs his players during a Major League Soccer match against San Diego FC at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Saturday (local time). AFP-Yonhap
Son Heung-min of Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) has grabbed the Major League Soccer (MLS) lead with his eighth assist of the season in a draw with San Diego FC.
Son came off the bench in the second half to help LAFC rally from a two-goal deficit for a 2-2 draw at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Saturday (local time).
With LAFC scheduled to play the second leg of the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup against Deportivo Toluca FC in Mexico on Wednesday, head coach Marc Dos Santos managed some key players’ minutes. Son was one of nine players replaced from the starting lineup that beat Toluca 2-1 in the opening leg of the semifinals earlier in the week.
San Diego striker Marcus Ingvartsen opened the scoring in the seventh minute and found the back of the net again in the 71st minute. Then Denis Bouanga got one back for LAFC in the 82nd minute by finishing a feed from Son, who had subbed in for Ryan Raposo in the 60th minute.
It was Son’s league-leading eighth assist of this season and his 15th dime in all competitions. The Korean superstar is now one assist ahead of two players, Niko Tsakiris of San Jose Earthquakes and Telasco Segovia of Inter Miami.
LAFC then erased the deficit on a last-gasp goal by Ryan Hollingshead deep into stoppage time.
LAFC, with 21 points from six wins, two losses and three draws, are third in the Western Conference of MLS behind San Jose (28) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (24).
