The penultimate edition of this year's Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire slate heads to the City of Angels, as red-hot LAFC – led by a dynamic duo scoring goals at a clip never seen before in MLS – host an Atlanta United side for whom little has gone right this year (9 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+).
This one feels like the “Hydrogen Bomb vs. Coughing Baby” meme come to life. It’s been that kind of second half of the season for the Black & Gold, and that kind of… everything for the Five Stripes.
So yeah, it feels pretty one-sided. But remember: this is MLS. Strange things can happen!
LAFC
- The catalyst for LAFC’s run is the acquisition of Son Heung-Min, the South Korean superstar who had a legendary career as a winger for Tottenham Hotspur and has been even better here as a center forward since arriving as the league-record signing two months ago. He’s already tallied 8g/3a in just 640 MLS minutes.
- The biggest beneficiary has been the guy who was previously LAFC’s biggest star, Denis Bouanga. He’s put up 10g/1a coming in off that left wing in the eight games Son has played, and last month became the first player in MLS history with three straight 20+ goal seasons. Oh, and he’s now on 23 goals for the year, just one behind Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot presented by Audi lead.
- Nonetheless, this all could’ve gone wrong if center back Nkosi Tafari hadn’t stepped up once Aaron Long’s season ended with a torn Achilles’ tendon three months ago. Tafari’s reclaimed the form that saw him get a USMNT camp two years ago, and is now playing the best ball of his life.
Atlanta United
- None of the high-profile signings have delivered commensurate with expectations, and that includes center forward Emmanuel Latte Lath, the man who Son displaced as the most expensive signing in league history. He’s put up just 7g/1a this year, and hasn’t gotten his name into the boxscore in almost three months.
- Colombian international d-mid Steven Alzate arrived in the summer window, with Atlanta’s front office hoping he could put a bandage on the wounds of the 2025 season while proving to be a foundational piece of 2026 and beyond. The first part didn’t work; the second part… well, they’re hoping to get more data.
- There's been some positive data from young goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert, who’s been auditioning for the No. 1 kit over the past six games. There’s been some good moments and some bad, and he'll have his work cut out for him in this one.
Believe it or not, the Black & Gold still have a very, very slim chance of taking the Supporters’ Shield. If they win all four of their remaining games and the Union take two or fewer points from their final two outings, then LAFC would climb above the current leaders.
Of course, that wouldn’t be enough – they’d also need Cincinnati and Vancouver to drop points over their final few games as well.
It is extremely unlikely. But it is on the board, as of this being published Thursday afternoon.
What’s much more achievable is topping the Western Conference table, and with that claiming home-field advantage (potentially through MLS Cup). LAFC have a game in hand on the ‘Caps and two in hand on both Minnesota and first-place San Diego, all of whom are catchable.
And there should be, I think, some real urgency to get out of the four seed, at the very least, because that’s your best bet for avoiding Seattle in Round One. There is a significant drop-off in quality behind the Sounders in seeds six through nine in the standings.
Nothing like the above. Every minute for about the past month, and every minute of their final three games, is about the players trying to prove they should stick around for next season. If they can play spoiler along the way? Well, that’s nice too, I suppose.
But yeah, this is about the long-term. Atlanta spent a record amount last winter, between Latte Lath and Miguel Almirón, and proceeded to miss expectations to the point that it’s fair to wonder what sort of roster turnover awaits.
That could extend to head coach Ronny Deila, too. The Norwegian guided New York City FC to their 2021 MLS Cup triumph; his second go-round in MLS has been a much more somber affair.
LAFC
I had questions about how Son and Bouanga would fit since both guys, traditionally, have been left-wingers who are at their best in transition attacking at pace against scrambled backlines. I thought they’d overlap – if there was one guy at the top of the game in Europe who I felt Bouanga most resembled, it was Son. I was certain there would be some growing pains.
There were not. And it’s not just tactically that these guys have jelled. Look at this:
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen vibes instantly so good between superstar goalscorers in MLS. The only other pairs in the running, I think, were Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins when they joined forces just over a decade ago in Seattle, and then waaaaaay back in 1996 when Jaime Moreno arrived at D.C. United mid-season and had that legendary connection with Raúl Díaz Arce.
Obviously, LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo has done the smart thing and built all LAFC does around getting these guys into space. The big change has been shifting to a 3-4-2-1 (which has actually been a 3-5-2 a couple of times, with both Son and Bouanga up top) and asking the wingbacks to get forward but stay wide – pulling opposing defenders a few more yards away from the dynamic duo.
Note that diagonal from Tafari, by the way? I’m telling you – this guy is very, very good.
Also to Cherundolo’s credit, this team is much more likely to get on the ball, and much better at using it to control games, than they have been the past couple of years. Adding Mark Delgado before the season (still and forever the most underrated player in the league) surely has something to do with that, but it’s also clearly a mentality change.
This team’s won four straight by a combined 15-4. They feel irresistible right now.
Atlanta United
Sadly for Atlanta, they have not been the immovable object. They have shown little ability, at any point this season, to prevent teams from getting out into transition. This was just last week and, dear reader, I assure you that Carles Gil’s on-ball acceleration, while impressive, does not compare to Son's or Bouanga’s:
Turnovers are deadly for Atlanta. Compounding that, Deila has actively encouraged this team to get into spots and cross the ball as often as possible, which… early crosses can be good. Low crosses can be good, and pullbacks across the six-yard box are excellent.
These are not the kinds of crosses Atlanta hit. What they do is play a 4-2-3-1, bring the fullbacks up fairly recklessly, and then cross from wide positions. Those types of crosses are often cleared directly up the middle, and when they are, if the opponents win the second ball, then it’s off to the races.
It has happened time and time again this year. I will be surprised if it doesn’t happen once or twice in this game as well.
I’m expecting two changes from last week’s starting lineup, one in midfield, where Timothy Tillman will return after missing a week via suspension, and one in goal, where Thomas Hasal replaces regular starter Hugo Lloris.
Lloris was involved in a nasty collision early in LAFC’s 3-0 win at St. Louis last weekend. He finished out the half, then Hasal replaced him at the break and did fine. No reason to rush Lloris back, right?
Also, keep an eye on right winger Andrew Moran. He likes to drop into central midfield as a playmaker and then play the types of through-balls that Son and Bouanga feast upon.
