Son Heung-min's silence grew longer again. He ran all over the field, moved constantly and tried to unsettle the opposing defense, but the goal never opened. However, LAFC secured a valuable victory as the winning goal came from space created by Son Heung-min and Deni Buanga.
LAFC beat the Seattle Sounders 1-0 at home on the 25th (KST) at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles in the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS). Timothy Tillman's late second-half winning goal decided the match.
With this victory, LAFC recorded 24 points and continued to compete near the top of the Western Conference. They trailed fourth-place Dallas by one point.
Son Heung-min started again as the center forward. Along with Deni Buanga and David Martinez in the attack, he moved actively throughout the match and led the offensive play.
But goals did not come easily.
Son Heung-min attempted five shots in the first half alone, totaling seven shots on the day. But only two were on target. Shots attempted inside the box were blocked by Seattle's compact defense, and several chances narrowly missed the goal, leaving regrets.
In the end, Son Heung-min remained goalless in 12 consecutive MLS matches. However, he has already recorded eight assists.
Football statistics outlet FotMob gave Son Heung-min a rating of 6.9 after the match.
Seattle played extreme defensive football from the start. In a 4-2-3-1 formation they dropped their line deep and focused on containing Son Heung-min and Buanga. LAFC tried to keep creating space using the flanks and half-spaces but struggled to create defensive cracks.
Son Heung-min also had a difficult game. His dribble success rate was 50% (3 successes on 6 attempts), but under heavy pressure he lost the ball several times.
The most regrettable scene came in the 22nd minute of the second half. Son Heung-min had a decisive header opportunity in front of goal but failed to connect accurately and could not convert it into a score. If he had made proper impact, it would have been a high-probability goal chance.
In the middle of the second half LAFC also faced a crisis. In the 31st minute of the second half, during a Seattle counterattack the flank defense collapsed and they conceded a dangerous shot, but they breathed a sigh of relief when the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out.
Immediately after surviving the concession threat, Son Heung-min led the attack again. In the 32nd minute of the second half, his right-footed shot from the center of the penalty box curled low toward the corner but was stopped by Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Thomas.
The tense balance was broken at the end of the match. In the 41st minute of the second half, Son Heung-min and Buanga moved vigorously near the penalty box, drawing all of the opposing defenders' attention, and space opened in that gap. Tyler Boyd's cross was finished by Tillman diving to score the winning goal.
It did not appear in Son Heung-min's statistics, but he made a decisive movement that began the scoring sequence.
The match ended with LAFC's 1-0 victory. But it was another disappointing night for Son Heung-min personally. He has not scored in an official match since the April 8 clash with Cruz Azul.
With the CONCACAF World Cup opening approaching, the captain of the national team, Son Heung-min's goal drought is lengthening.
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