Denis Bouanga scores twice as LAFC beats Galaxy – Press Enterprise

LOS ANGELES — Denis Bouanga admits that sometimes he tries to do too much on the field.

But it’s tough to blame the dynamic French forward for his efforts.

Two more goals pushed Bouanga to 14 this Major League Soccer regular season, tying him for the lead in the Golden Boot race, as the Los Angeles Football Club secured a 4-2 victory over their heated rivals, the L.A. Galaxy, at BMO Stadium.

“I think that every player should play for the collective, but I know that sometimes I play and do too much and it doesn’t work,” Bouanga said prior to the fourth El Trafico of 2023. “At the end you need to do what works best for the team.”

Whether he freelanced on his own or played within the dimensions laid out by LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo on Saturday, Bouanga — and his teammates — put in a performance they had to have, ending a three-match losing streak in the heat of a playoff race with their toughest road trip fo the season coming next.

“I can tell you that Denis wants nothing more than to win games,” Cherundolo said. “He’s a true competitor whether it’s a 4v4 in training, or 1v1 or if it’s 11v11. The guy wants to win and that’s why he’s here.”

Three finishes in nine minutes set the terms of the first half.

Bouanga broke through with a drilled header to begin a back-and-forth stretch that gave the home team a 2-1 edge heading into the break.

The Black & Gold had prodded the Galaxy (7-11-9, 30 points), losing in the league for just the second time in their last 13 matches, in the early moments of the match by choosing to dial back the chaos-creating high press that can make them extremely difficult to deal with when they work unison.

Instead, LAFC (12-9-7, 43 points) looked for advantages by passing between the Galaxy lines and taking crosses deep in their rival’s box as the visitors waited on counter attacks.

Bouanga’s leaping effort in the 24th minute came courtesy of fullback Diego Palacios, who, on the night of goalkeeper Max Crepeau’s return, conjured memories of his perfect pass to Gareth Bale that sent the MLS Cup to penalties as it burst the outstretched arms of Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.

BMO Stadium was still riled up when the Galaxy retaliated off the restart.

Three passes up the gut of the field off the kickoff setup 37-year-old Billy Sharp for a wheeling shot that required him to turn 360 degrees to get his right foot on a sneaky assist from Diego Fagundez.

LAFC snatched the lead back in the 33rd minute on the good fortune of defender Ryan Hollingshead, whose fourth goal of the season came when he unintentionally ran onto a Vela pass, took one dribble and struck a low, hard shot that found the goal off Bond’s outstretched hand.

The Galaxy pushed for an equalizer in the first quarter hour of the second half, and found it when forward Tyler Boyd darted in front of the LAFC defense to flick a Fagundez pass in the direction of Japanese defender Maya Yoshida, who took the header for his first finish in MLS.

The last half hour belonged to LAFC starting with Bouanga’s poached goal in the 75th minute, and Timothy Tillman’s insurance finish following a breakaway feed from striker Mario Gonzalez nine minutes later.

The result split the teams’ four contests in 2023, with each winning at home and on the road.

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