Recap | LAFC 3-0 Inter Miami CF | 2026 MLS Season

Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) began its 2026 MLS regular season with a 3-0 win over Inter Miami CF in the second-highest attended game in MLS history, and the highest attended opening weekend game in league annals.

With 75,673 watching firsthand inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Black & Gold forwards David Martínez (38'), Denis Bouanga (73'), and Nathan Ordaz (90+4') scored for the home side, securing LAFC's ninth win in a regular-season opener in its nine seasons of play in MLS, extending its league record for consecutive wins in season openers (9W-0L-0D).

The highly anticipated matchup of reigning MLS MVP Lionel Messi against LAFC’s own global star, Son Heung-Min, evolved into a story of LAFC’s multi-pronged attack ruling the night.

In the sixth minute, a line-breaking pass from Bouanga gave Son a free run on goal, with the South Korean forward rounding new Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and passing to Bouanga on the doorstep before St. Clair parried Bouanga’s shot over the bar.

Bouanga created close danger on his own in the tenth minute, then a Son free kick in the 14th minute (after Martínez drew a foul) hit the Inter Miami wall from 18 yards out.

The Black & Gold finally broke through 22 minutes later, when new midfielder Stephen Eustáquio pinged a loose ball directly to the feet of Son atop Miami’s penalty area, allowing Son to set up a sprinting Martínez for a left-footed finish that made the score 1-0 to the delight of the record crowd.

Another transition moment and another incisive Bouanga pass created a dangerous Martínez chance in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time, but the 20-year-old’s attempt on goal rolled just wide of St. Clair’s post, keeping the score 1-0 at half.

The defending MLS Cup champions, Inter Miami began the second half intent on equalizing. Halftime substitute Facundo Mura ran onto a Messi ball and sent a cross from the right wing toward the mouth of LAFC’s goal that recently acquired striker Germán Bertarame headed just wide of the near post. That would prove to be the Herons' most promising chance of the night, as LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris registered three saves and defenders Eddie Segura, Sergi Palencia, Nkosi Tafari, and Ryan Porteous turned in four nearly flawless 90-minute shifts. 

The Black & Gold attack struck again in the 73rd minute, when midfielder Timmy Tillman lofted a long ball toward Miami’s area and St. Clair charged off his line to try and end the threat. Bouanga, however, sprinted past the keeper while heading the ball to himself, then finished with his right foot into an empty net to make the score 2-0.

In the 87th minute LAFC nearly added to its lead when Son maneuvered around St. Clair near Inter Miami’s end line and found Bouanga on the doorstep, but Bouanga slipped and St. Clair recovered and gathered.

Los Angeles native and LAFC Homegrown forward Nathan Ordaz came on for Son at the 89-minute mark and immediately made an impact. With Bouanga penetrating once again along the left flank, Ordaz made his run through the center of the penalty area, finishing Bouanga’s pinpoint pass to complete the scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Up next for LAFC is Leg Two of its matchup with Real España in Round One of Concacaf Champions Cup. The Black & Gold hosts the Honduran side at BMO Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7:00 p.m. PT, and holds a 6-1 advantage on aggregate goals headed into the deciding match. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com. The match will be broadcast on FS2, TUDN, ConcacafGo, and OneSoccer, with radio coverage on 710 AM ESPN LA, 980 AM La Mera Mera and K-Radio 1230 AM. 

LAFC’s next MLS regular-season match is scheduled for Sat., Feb. 28, in Houston, Texas, against Houston Dynamo FC. That game will be broadcast on Apple TV, with radio coverage on ESPN Radio 710 AM, the ESPN LA app, 980 AM La Mera Mera (Spanish), and 1230 AM K-Radio (Korean).

NOTES

• LAFC is now 9W-0L-0D all-time in MLS regular-season openers, extending its own league record for consecutive wins in season-opening games.

• Including the first game in club history on March 4, 2018 (a 1-0 win in Seattle), LAFC has outscored opponents 18-4 in MLS regular-season openers, and collected six clean sheets, including a 1-0 victory over Inter Miami in 2020.

• Son’s assist to Martínez was his fifth assist, and his 17th goal contribution, in the 14 league games he has played since joining LAFC in August 2025 (including MLS Cup Playoffs). Son’s assist to Martínez also marked his fourth assist of 2026 in just two games, in all competitions. Son recorded three assists in LAFC’s 6-1 win over Real España in Concacaf Champions Cup play on Feb. 17.

• The 75,673 spectators on hand at Saturday night’s match at the LA Coliseum made it the second-highest attended game in MLS history and the highest attended opening weekend crowd the league has ever seen. It was also the largest soccer crowd on the planet this weekend. Bayern Munich hosted 75,000 fans for its 3-2 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich on Saturday.

• On the list of highest attended games in MLS history, Saturday night’s crowd stands second only to the 82,110 who saw LAFC take on the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl on July 4, 2023.