Sunday, Sept. 21 | 6:00 p.m. PT | presented by Ford
🏟 | BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
📻 | 710 AM ESPN, ESPN LA App, KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera (Spanish), and KYPA 1230 AM (Korean)
🗓 | Calendar sync
👑 | Noche de Carlos Vela: Arrive early as we celebrate LAFC legend Carlos Vela and our Latin American community, starting with FanFest outside BMO Stadium from 2:00-5:30. Enjoy tailgating, live performances (including a DJ, Folklorico dancers, Aztec dancers, Mariachi music and a Banda performance), as well as games, partner giveaways, and a chance to sign the “Thank You Carlos” wall.
Inside the stadium, there will be a pregame ceremony and a special unveiling that honors Vela, LAFC’s first and most decorated player and original Club Ambassador. All fans will receive a commemorative Carlos Vela t-shirt and LED wristband upon entry, courtesy of Ford. Limited-edition Vela merchandise will be available at our team store, LAFC HQ. And hang around after the match for a one-of-a-kind fireworks celebration.
LAFC returns home Sunday night to face Real Salt Lake and to celebrate the Black & Gold’s first and most decorated player, Carlos Vela, on Noche de Carlos Vela at BMO Stadium.
The Black & Gold surged into the top four of the Western Conference standings by defeating RSL on the road at midweek, with Son Heung-Min netting his first MLS hat trick and Denis Bouanga scoring his 94th goal for the Black & Gold, surpassing his former teammate Vela to become the club’s all-time leading scorer across all competitions.
LAFC sits in fourth place in the Western Conference (13W-7L-8D, 47 pts.) with two games in hand on the top two teams. The Black & Gold has scored 53 goals and conceded just 36 in regular-season play this year (plus-17 goal differential).
With a win or draw on Sunday, LAFC would clinch its seventh MLS Cup Playoff berth in eight seasons, and its fourth straight. Watching from the sidelines will be Vela, the former captain who played a critical role in LAFC’s first five playoff berths, and in forging the Black & Gold’s identity, its championship ethos, and its deep connection with the city.
LAFC, with just six games left on its regular-season schedule, is also seeking a fourth straight top-four finish in the Western Conference, which provides home-field advantage in Round One of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
“I think it's very important for us to find the momentum right now and carry on that confidence and that harmony and chemistry on the field to the playoffs,” said midfielder Timmy Tillman. “We all want to reach the playoffs and we want to do well in the playoffs and that's why it's so important to have a good stretch right at the end of the season."
RSL is currently in 10th place in the West (10W-15L-4D, 34 pts.) with 31 goals scored and 41 conceded (minus-10 goal differential).
MIDWEEK RECAP
Son was named MLS Player of the Matchday following his three-goal performance in Utah on Wednesday night. The South Korean superstar has scored five goals for LAFC in just six appearances since he joined the club in early August. His third goal in the midweek match was assisted by Bouanga, who went on to score a goal himself in the 88th minute— one that rewrote the Black & Gold record books and moved him to within one goal of becoming the first player in MLS history with three straight 20-goal seasons.
DANGER DUO
Son and Bouanga have combined to score all ten LAFC goals over the last four matches, and have scored 11 of LAFC’s 14 goals since Son’s MLS debut on August 9 in Chicago. Son has scored five and Bouanga six during that six-game span.
“It's a very easy chemistry,” Bouanga said on Friday of his relationship with Son. “Sonny is a very good player. On the field and off the field he’s easy. This connection that we have, this chemistry, it’s very simple, it’s very natural.”
Bouanga’s 19 regular-season goals this year rank third in the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race, trailing Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge (21 goals) and Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi (19).
RANKING RSL
The Claret & Cobalt are trying to claim the West’s ninth and final postseason spot, and currently sit just one point behind ninth-place San Jose, with five games remaining.
U.S. Men's National Team star Diego Luna leads RSL in goals (nine) and assists (five). Zavier Gozo (age 18) scored RSL’s only goal on Wednesday in Utah.
VELA MEMORIES
Cherundolo coached Vela during the Black & Gold’s MLS Cup title season (2022) and during in 2023 as well, when the club repeated as Western Conference champs. His favorite memories of the LAFC legend, however, are not football-related.
“For me, the best memories at work are always the ones maybe not really involved with work,” Cherundolo said after training on Friday. “It's the personal relationships, the conversations, the laughs, the jokes … But obviously winning a trophy with Carlos—trophies with Carlos— was amazing. And I'm very happy for him. He put in a lot of work to do that. And to watch him as the captain raise trophies, I think it was special for him and this club, and I was happy to be part of it.”
Tillman added: “We're all happy to have him there on Sunday. We are all looking forward to seeing him again, and I think the fans will go crazy. The whole stadium will show love to him. For me personally, I just remember him as a very, very nice guy in the locker room, like always in a good mood, always bringing good vibes and being one of the leaders that led the club to where it's at right now.”
REAL SALT LAKE CAN WIN IF
Pablo Mastroeni shuffles his deck effectively. RSL’s manager will be without the services of Victor Olatunji for this match after the forward was red-carded in the final moments on Wednesday. Olatunji was dangerous in moments during that match, drawing a penalty and nearly getting on the end of a few of RSL’s 12 corner kicks. Mastroeni, Cherundolo’s former teammate on the U.S. Men’s National Team, will be tasked with finding a new combination that clicks.
“We rarely play the same team twice in one week,” Cherundolo said. “It's just an anomaly of our schedule and our season, but it'll be interesting to see what Pablo has thought of and what solutions and changes he'll make, if any, and then what we'll do. For those hobby tacticians in the stands or in front of the TV, it'll be interesting to watch.”
LAFC CAN WIN IF
The Sonny & Denis road show continues playing the hits in LA. “Those two in particular, with how we've been playing recently, both are excellent at exposing teams in behind,” Cherundolo said. “If you give either player room in behind, if you give either player windows, we're going to attack those spaces.”
The Black & Gold owns a home record of 8W-4L-2D in the 2025 regular season. Only third-place Vancouver has won more home games this year among Western Conference teams.
LAFC has taken at least a point from nine of its last 11 MLS matches overall, going 6W-2L-3D in that span.
