LAFC Turned Bobblehead Night Into a Statement Night

They gave out Son Heung-Min bobbleheads. He gave them two goals.

BMO Stadium was electric from the jump on Wednesday night as LAFC welcomed fans back for the first time in nearly two months, and the Black & Gold made it worth the wait, rolling past Real Salt Lake 3-1 to move into third place in the Western Conference.

Son got the party started in the 11th minute, doing what only he can do. Nkosi Tafari played a long ball out of his own half, finding Shaffelburg who laid it off perfectly into Son's path. The Korean international took one touch, cut inside, and placed a left-footed shot just inside the post from the edge of the box. Yellow smoke poured from the stands, Son hit his signature celebration, and BMO was rocking.

It only got better. In the 40th minute, Mathieu Choinière played a through ball behind the RSL backline and Bouanga was onto it in a heartbeat, racing clear, shifting onto his right foot and firing a top shelf finish into the net from inside the box. Clinical doesn't cover it. 2-0 at the half, and it could have been more.

RSL came out swinging in the second half, but Lloris was the wall. The veteran Frenchman made six saves on the night, equaling his season-high, keeping Salt Lake scoreless through the opening stages of the second half and preserving the cushion. When RSL did finally get through, the game was already buried.

The third came in the 68th minute, and fittingly it had Son's fingerprints all over it. His drive into the box from the right drew a deflection off DeAndre Yedlin and into the net, the former USMNT defender unlucky to put through his own goal but powerless to stop it.

RSL pulled one back in the 86th minute through Lukas Engel's close-range volley, but by then it was already over.

Three wins on the bounce. Third in the West. Son with 9 assists on the season, the most in MLS, and Bouanga on eight league goals. LAFC are hitting their stride at exactly the right time.

Next up, LAFC host Sporting Kansas City on July 25 at BMO Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT.