On a night where LAFC honored club legend Carlos Vela and a past era, they continued to build their newest legends.

For the second time in a matter of days, LAFC trounced Real Salt Lake 4-1, with a hat-trick this time from Denis Bouanga, and a single goal from Son Heung-min, the opposite of the midweek match in Sandy, Utah. 

The win brought LAFC to fourth in the Western Conference and made history for their two superstars, as they continue to build after clinching an MLS Cup Playoff spot due to other results the night prior.

For Bouanga, he became the first player to score 20 goals in three straight MLS seasons, and brought his total to 22 on the year, tied with Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi for the MLS Golden Boot. 

Meanwhile, Son maintained his stellar form through his first seven games, bringing his total to six goals and two assists, as the two continued to build one of the most potent MLS attacking partnerships, now having linked up on LAFC’s last 14 goals. 

“Having Bouanga in our team is huge. He is one of the high-quality players,” Son said of his newfound attacking partner. “Scoring 20 goals three seasons in a row is a massive thing…it's not random, it's not luck, he works out really hard to be in positions to be scoring goals, and we should appreciate that.”

While many of the eyes went to Bouanga for his record-breaking week, having surpassed Vela for the club’s all-time scoring lead, the two matches against Salt Lake were also about the magic brewing between the two attackers. 

Not only are they producing goals in highlight-reel fashion, whether perfectly curled strikes or nicely orchestrated buildups, but they have embraced each other with an evident energy that emanates through their emotional celebrations in front of the home support. 

“Scoring goals in front of the packed stadium is really special,” Son added. “We needed the supporters behind us…and then afterwards, our performance, our energy went up and we were able to score four goals, and it was all joy.”

Added head coach Steve Cherndolo about the duo: ”When two attackers are both prolific as they are, it gives the rest of the team energy… If you are a defender, you will run gladly for 100 minutes, however long we play, if your attackers are finishing plays like Denis and Sonny are finishing plays.”

Son Praises Carlos Vela

Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min caught up with Carlos Vela ahead of kickoff on Sunday. | Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

With Vela in the building and another landmark performance from Bouanga and Son, Sunday’s match marked somewhat of a passing of the torch. Now, Son wants to build his legacy alongside Bouanga as well, with 2025 already looking like a prime year to chase remaining silverware. 

“Even though I was in Europe, I was watching some of the games that [Carlos Vela] was playing for this club, and he did a fantastic job,” Son said of the Mexican legend who scored 93 goals in 186 matches across all competitions and led the way with Gareth Bale and Bouanga to the 2022 MLS Cup. 

“He's always welcome to the club, and the fans love him, and the clubs love him. It was good to see him on the pitch, and then everybody was happy to see him. One day, I want to be like him as well, so when I'm retired, I can come back to LA, and that's how everybody would welcome me.”

With a playoff spot locked up, the goal for Son, Bouanga, and LAFC will be to maintain their form in the final five matches, to bring momentum into the first-round best-of-three series, where they will also hope to have home advantage as a top-four seed. 

"I don't really have a word to describe [playing with Son] because it's natural," Bouanga said in French. "You see it now, and you're going to see it until the end of the season.”

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Denis Bouanga, Son Heung-min Make MLS History As Carlos Vela Watches On.

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