Los Angeles, February 22 – Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) began its 2026 MLS regular season with a 3-0 victory over Inter Miami CF, which was the second-highest attended game in MLS history and the highest attended opening weekend game in league annals.
With 75,673 watching firsthand inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, LAFC forwards David Martínez (38'), Denis Bouanga (73'), and Nathan Ordaz (90+4') scored for the home side, securing LAFC's ninth win in a regular-season opener in its nine seasons of play in MLS, extending its league record for consecutive wins in season openers (9W-0L-0D).
The highly anticipated matchup between reigning MLS MVP Lionel Messi and LAFC's global star Son Heung-Min evolved into a story of LAFC's multi-pronged attacking pressure dismantling a Miami defense that included several new faces and was playing its first competitive match of 2026, according to LAFC.
In the sixth minute, a pass from Bouanga gave Son a clear shot on goal, with the South Korean forward rounding new Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and passing to Bouanga on the doorstep before St. Clair parried Bouanga's shot over the bar. Bouanga also created close danger for himself in the tenth minute, and a Son free kick in the 14th minute (after Martinez drew a foul) hit the Inter Miami wall from 18 yards out.
LAFC broke the deadlock 22 minutes later, when new midfielder Stephen Eustaquio pinged a loose ball directly to Son's feet in Miami's penalty area, allowing Son to set up a sprinting Martínez for a left-footed finish that made the score 1-0 at halftime.
The defending MLS Cup champions, Inter Miami, began the second half intent on equalizing. Halftime substitute Facundo Mura ran onto a Messi ball and sent a cross from the right wing toward LAFC's goal, and recently acquired striker German Bertarame headed just wide of the near post.
The hosts struck again in the 73rd minute, when midfielder Timmy Tillman lofted a long ball toward Miami's area, and St. Clair charged off his line to try and end the threat. However, Bouanga sprinted past the keeper while heading the ball to himself, then finished with his right foot into an empty net to make the score 2-0.
In the 87th minute, LAFC nearly added to its lead when Son maneuvered around St. Clair near Inter Miami's end line and found Bouanga on the doorstep, but Bouanga slipped, and St. Clair recovered and gathered.
LAFC forward Nathan Ordaz came on for Son at the 89-minute mark and immediately made an impact. With Bouanga penetrating again along the left flank, Ordaz made his run through the center of the penalty area, finishing Bouanga's pinpoint pass to complete the scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
