{"id":14367,"date":"2026-07-23T07:18:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T02:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=14367"},"modified":"2026-07-23T07:18:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T02:18:24","slug":"son-vs-luna-lafc-host-real-salt-lake-in-midweek-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=14367","title":{"rendered":"Son vs. Luna: LAFC host Real Salt Lake in midweek showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>Western Conference contenders clash in a midweek tilt when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/los-angeles-football-club\/\">LAFC<\/a> welcome <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/real-salt-lake\/\">Real Salt Lake<\/a> to BMO Stadium on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Standings<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<ul>\n<li>3rd in Western Conference<\/li>\n<li>27 points (8W-5L-3D)<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3>Last game<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>LAFC delivered a statement performance during their return from the 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/\">FIFA World Cup<\/a> pause, handing El Tr\u00e1fico rivals <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/la-galaxy\/\">LA Galaxy<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/mls-regular-season\/2026\/matches\/lavslafc-07-17-2026\/\">3-0 defeat<\/a> at Dignity Health Sports Park.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/marky-delgado\/\">Mark Delgado<\/a> opened the scoring for the Black &amp; Gold against his former club, then the superstar attacking duo of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/denis-bouanga\/\">Denis Bouanga<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/son-heung-min\/\">Son Heung-Min<\/a> also found the back of the net.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3>Players to watch<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Denis Bouanga:<\/strong> LAFC&#8217;s all-time leading scorer (113 goals) grew his El Tr\u00e1fico legacy last week by scoring for the seventh straight game against the Galaxy. He&#8217;s the only player to do so in the rivalry&#8217;s history.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Son Heung-Min:<\/strong> The South Korean superstar capped last week&#8217;s El Tr\u00e1fico rout with his first goal of the 2026 MLS campaign, to go along with a joint league-leading nine assists.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hugo Lloris:<\/strong> The French World Cup-winning goalkeeper posted his MLS-best ninth clean sheet of the season against the Galaxy.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3>Need to know<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>One game into the second half of the season, LAFC look very much the part of MLS Cup contenders \u2013 especially with Bouanga and Son both scoring in El Tr\u00e1fico.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>The pair <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/historic-duo-son-heung-min-denis-bouanga-enter-mls-record-books\">made history last season<\/a> en route to the Western Conference Semifinals. Can they lead the Black &amp; Gold to even greater heights in 2026?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Standings<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<ul>\n<li>4th in Western Conference<\/li>\n<li>26 points (8W-4L-2D)<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3>Last game<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>RSL entered the World Cup break with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/mls-regular-season\/2026\/matches\/minvsrsl-05-23-2026\/\">1-1 draw<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/minnesota-united-fc\">Minnesota United FC<\/a>, conceding in second-half stoppage time after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/zach-booth\/\">Zach Booth<\/a> opened the scoring.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>However, head coach Pablo Mastroeni&#8217;s team is undefeated in three and proved to be one of the league&#8217;s most exciting teams during the first half of the season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3>Players to watch<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Zavier Gozo:<\/strong> The homegrown sensation is enjoying a breakout season with 6g\/5a, earning his first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/allstar\/2026\/news\/2026-mls-all-star-team-roster\">MLS All-Star nod<\/a> amid reported transfer interest from Europe&#8217;s top-five leagues.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diego Luna:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/diego-luna\/\">Luna<\/a>&#8216;s exclusion from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/us-men-s-national-team\/\">USMNT<\/a>&#8216;s World Cup squad raised plenty of eyebrows. Will RSL&#8217;s &#8220;Moon Man&#8221; use the snub as fuel to lead the club on an MLS Cup run?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Juan Manuel Sanabria:<\/strong> The left wingback featured in all three of Uruguay&#8217;s Group Stage games at this summer&#8217;s World Cup.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3>Need to know<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>RSL have something special going this season, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/zavier-gozo\">Gozo<\/a>, Luna and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/sergi-solans\/\">Sergi Solans<\/a> highlighting a squad that&#8217;s gone toe-to-toe with the league&#8217;s best.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>However, with Gozo and Luna reportedly attracting multiple suitors from abroad, the group&#8217;s window of opportunity may be finite. Can this RSL side make history in 2026?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p>Fresh off an El Tr\u00e1fico victory, LAFC have earned nearly 60% of the market. That&#8217;s compared to around 20% for RSL, who are playing their first game since the World Cup break.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text  \">\n<p><em>Market insights shared are current as of Tuesday, July 21 at 9:30 am ET.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Western Conference contenders clash in a midweek tilt when LAFC welcome Real Salt Lake to BMO Stadium on Wednesday evening. Standings 3rd in Western Conference 27 points (8W-5L-3D) Last game LAFC delivered a statement performance during their return from the 2026 FIFA World Cup pause, handing El Tr\u00e1fico rivals LA Galaxy a 3-0 defeat at&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mlssoccer.com\/image\/private\/t_editorial_landscape_3_4_desktop\/mls\/swyuniwgfaww9ua7jgdn.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}