Ryan Hollingshead scored his third goal on an instinctive late volley, Jose Cifuentes added his second on a stylish team move moments before full time and LAFC finally erupted for a 2-0 victory over Minnesota United FC on Sunday night at Banc of California Stadium.
Diego Palacios and Francisco Ginella combined to set up Cifuentes' tally, which sealed LAFC's return to the top of the Western Conference standings after Austin FC briefly seized first place with their win on Saturday.
Los Angeles have won seven of nine to open the season, with all but one of those victories coming by multiple goals.
Maxime Crepeau required only one save to keep his first clean sheet since a 2-0 win at 10-man Inter Miami CF back in mid-March.
Minnesota were held scoreless for just the second time this season as their two-match win streak ended.
Robin Lod had the best opportunity for the visitors on the break three minutes after halftime, but sent his effort over the target under pressure from Crepeau
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Both Hollingshead (goal shown below) and Cifuentes both came off the bench, making it the seventh and eighth time an LAFC substitute has found the net so far this season. To put that in perspective, three MLS teams have scored eight or fewer goals this season as of the end of Week 9. Meanwhile, Minnesota allowed their first two goals after the 60th minute mark this season, and just their seventh and eighth overall.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: After the final ball was consistently a hare off for the first 89 minutes, it all came together on Cifuentes' 90th-minute tally influenced by yet another substitute in Ginella.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Ilie Sanchez. The holding midfielder was a major reason why LAFC began to control affairs as the second half wore on. Maybe none of the analytic numbers stand out, but the Spaniard was a consistent positive influence on an occasionally inconsistent night.
Up Next
- LAFC: Saturday, May 7 vs. Philadelphia Union | 11 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US and DAZN in Canada)
- MIN: Saturday, May 7 vs. FC Cincinnati | 8 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US and DAZN in Canada)
