Hany Mukhtar's hat trick shreds LAFC in loss at Nashville

When it rains, it pours. LAFC's losing streak extended to four games across all competitions on Sunday evening after being defeated 3-2 by Nashville SC at GEODIS Park. The Black & Gold are now 6-5-3 after suffering their first loss in club history at Nashville, which remains the only side in MLS without a loss at home this season.

"I felt the first 10 minutes we came into the game really well," said head coach Marc Dos Santos. "To get a goal like that conceded is frustrating. But again, the reaction of the guys and how we went about things…our guys didn't deserve this. They pushed well, they played to win."

A similar pattern rang true for Los Angeles after allowing its opponent to get on the board early once again. Midfielder Hany Mukhtar, who erupted for a hat trick in the match, earned his first score after sneaking behind the defense of Eddie Segura and Nkosi Tafari to fire a shot past goalkeeper Thomas Hasal. L.A. has now allowed its opponent to score first in its last five matches across all competitions.

Hasal, who last appeared on April 11 in LAFC's 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers, started in goal ahead of Hugo Lloris. The 39-year-old was ruled out for Sunday's contest with a leg injury. 

Mukhtar's other two goals came via free kicks. His first came in minute 21 as he curled a strike past the dive of Hasal for his 100th goal with Nashville.

He once again struck in the 59th minute after a yellow card was shown to LAFC defender Ryan Porteous, which set up another opportunity. This time, Mukhtar rifled the shot into the top right corner of the net to put a bow on his dominant showing.

L.A. did not completely falter, however, providing a response to each of his free-kick scores. David Martínez answered back just a single minute after Mukhtar's second score of the night, putting home a perfect feed from Denis Bouanga that left him with a straight-on look from close range.

Bouanga later found a goal of his own to shrink the deficit back down to one, tapping in a well-placed free kick from Son Heung-min at the near post. It was the sixth of the year for the forward, who brought LAFC within 3-2 as 23 minutes remained before stoppage time.

"It's so difficult for me to say I'm happy to score," said Bouanga. "We just need to keep going, and that's it."

Son, who still hasn't managed to come up with an MLS score of his own in 2026, added his ninth assist of 2026. He had numerous chances to find the net in the defeat, including an early breakaway down the pitch that was snuffed by Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake. 

Bouanga spoke about the difficulties Son has faced compared to last season, which have caused him to get out to a slower start scoring-wise. 

"It's difficult because we play differently this year," he said. "I play a little bit farther on the wing, and Sonny plays on the top. Every time I have the ball, I want to find Sonny, but it's difficult."

Schwake did well to prevent the equalizing goal from L.A. down the stretch, turning away some key shots. Ryan Hollingshead's stoppage-time strike was denied on an impressive save as Schwake reached out with his left hand and managed to deflect it out of play.

"We have to look at this game and see a lot of the good things we did, because there's a lot of good moments," said Dos Santos. "Today, we didn't deserve to leave here with zero points. We have to stay together, work and hopefully be ready to get the win before the break."

With just five points earned across its last eight matches in league play, LAFC will return home for one final game before the FIFA World Cup break begins. They will host the Seattle Sounders next Sunday, May 24, in the first matchup between the two sides this year. 

Seattle (7-2-3) currently holds the fourth spot in the Western Conference. They had been on a six-game unbeaten run before falling 2-0 at home to the LA Galaxy on Saturday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT.