Son Heung-min goes scoreless despite nine-shot barrage against Portland
The forward had nine attempts but was still kept off the scoresheet as LAFC drew 1-1 with the Portland Timbers, extending the team's winless run to four matches and Son's personal goal drought to six.
Son Heung-min of the Los Angeles FC plays in the second half against the Colorado Rapids during a match at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, on Aug. 19.
GETTY/YONHAP
Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC (LAFC) remained scoreless despite firing a whopping nine shots, and his club settled for a 1-1 draw against the underdog Portland Timbers on Saturday at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
LAFC remained third in the Western Conference, one of the two regional groups in MLS, with 35 points from 10 wins, five draws and seven losses. The club has now gone four league matches without a win, with two draws and two losses, and once again failed to turn its fortunes around. Portland remained ninth in the West with 28 points from eight wins, four draws and nine losses.
Son returned to the starting lineup after one match but again failed to find the net.
He had started on the bench against the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, his first omission from the starting lineup in 14 matches.
Son had scored in each of his first four matches after the World Cup, but his hot streak abruptly gave way to a six-match scoring drought.
In Saturday’s match, Son continued to hunt for a breakthrough throughout the game. He played all 90 minutes and racked up nine shots, but a combination of sharp goalkeeping and determined defending kept him off the scoresheet.
LAFC fell behind just four minutes into the match when David da Costa of the Timbers opened the scoring. The Los Angeles club piled on the pressure afterward but struggled to find an answering goal for much of the match.
The breakthrough finally came for LAFC in the 79th minute, when Denis Bouanga curled in the equalizer with a finish that bore a striking resemblance to Son’s signature efforts. Even after Portland’s striker Vincent Janssen’s late dismissal gave LAFC a man advantage, a second goal never came.
LAFC is set to face D.C. United at Audi Field in Washington next Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
BY PIH JU-YOUNG [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
