Despite a draw, LAFC looked its most promising in a while

LAFC didn't get the three points it wanted (and probably deserved) on Saturday night at BMO Stadium, settling for a 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers. Looking beyond the final score, however, there was a product on the pitch that should leave Black & Gold supporters more optimistic than they've been in weeks.

For the majority of the month, LAFC's attack had simply gone quiet. What started as a scoring outburst following a return from the World Cup, with 10 goals scored across three matches, quickly dried up as August arrived. A pair of consecutive 1-0 defeats at the hands of San Diego FC and Colorado Rapids preceded Saturday's match, following a stretch that saw LA play four straight one-goal games across all competitions. 

The eye test certainly matched the box score, with chances harder to come by and failing to find the net when they did arrive. 

Saturday told a different story, despite Portland's David Da Costa pouncing on an early fast-break opportunity just four minutes in to put the visitors ahead. Rather than wilting away, LAFC spent the remainder of the evening generating the kind of pressure that had been missing. 

"We pushed all game," head coach Marc Dos Santos said. "When you concede like that early, you can have so many doubts in your head…I have nothing to point out to the players. What I told the guys after the game is that if we show up like that in every game, we're going to win a lot of games."

The Black & Gold finished with 11 shots on target to Portland's far more modest output of just two, with goalkeeper James Pantemis forced into an impressive 10-save showing. By the numbers, LAFC's expected-goals projection against Pantemis climbed to 2.3, well over double what Portland managed against Hugo Lloris. LAFC's 34 total shots on the night also set a new club record, eclipsing the previous mark of 31 set back in 2019 against Vancouver.

Unsurprisingly, Denis Bouanga was at the center of it all. The club's leading scorer entering the match, Bouanga remained persistent throughout, finally seeing his perseverance pay off in the 79th minute when he beat Pantemis from beyond the box to level the score. It was LA's 30th shot of the match, and the kind of goal that felt inevitable given how the game had unfolded, with LAFC pushing, testing and finally breaking through.

Jessica Cryderman – The Sporting Tribune

LAFC Denis Bouanga (99) passing the ball to a teammate during a MLS soccer game against the Portland Timbers on August 22nd, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.

Bouanga has carried LA's scoring load for much of the season, adding his 11th goal on Saturday and providing another example of his ability to find a way even when the final product hadn't been clicking for the team as a whole. 

"Sometimes it's like that," Bouanga said. "We keep pushing, keep shooting and sometimes it's not working. We need to keep pushing because sometimes we miss so many chances and we have a bad result after."

It wasn't just the forwards asserting themselves, either. LAFC's night started with an early setback that could have unraveled a team lacking in confidence and consistency, but the back line held steady. They gave the attack the platform it needed to keep pushing forward without conceding a second time. 

"I feel like we created a ton of chances and didn't give up much, so it's hard to fault the boys there," defender Aaron Long said. "Lately we haven't been scoring as many goals, but when we're at our best, we're getting shutouts, scoring first, making teams come out of their shell and really hitting them on the counter."

Long didn't sugarcoat the disappointment of the result itself, either. 

"We wanted six points minimum, so to end with one is super disappointing," he said regarding the team's past three matches. "It now puts us in a place where we have to go on the road and pick up points. This next stretch of six games is going to tell us a lot about who we are as a team and where we can finish on the table."

None of this will change the result that is reflected in the standings. A draw is a draw, and LA will want to find a way to turn performances like this into three points sooner rather than later, especially with the Western Conference playoff picture continuing to tighten. But there's a meaningful difference between a unit that's struggling to create and one that's creating without finishing. Saturday's match clearly showcased the latter. 

Eleven shots on goal, a double-digit save count forced out of the opposing goalkeeper and an expected-goals tally that dwarfed anything LAFC had managed in its previous two outings all point to an attack that's trending back in the right direction. 

"What we did today and our attitude, mentality and play, is what I want us to be about every day, every game," Dos Santos said. "I feel bad for everyone because they deserved so much more. To get out with one point from these two home games, we deserve more."

For a team that had gone stretches this summer looking drained of ideas in the final third, simply generating quality looks again and applying immense pressure is a meaningful step. The finishing touch, beyond Bouanga's moment of individual brilliance, still needs to catch up. But after a month of scoring woes and shutout losses, LAFC gave itself, and its fans, a reason to believe the attack might be finding its rhythm again just as the stretch run begins. 

LAFC will look to build on Saturday's performance and turn encouraging process into formidable results as the regular season continues to intensify and the playoffs creep up on the calendar.