Martinez Breaks Dallas Hearts on LAFC's First Night at BMO

BMO Stadium was ready. The crowd was loud, the lights were up, and LAFC had a statement to make on their first official home game at BMO Stadium of the 2026 MLS season. One goal was all it took.

David Martínez curled a left-footed strike from outside the box into the top left corner in the 55th minute and that was enough to send the Black & Gold faithful home happy with a 1–0 win over FC Dallas.

It wasn't always pretty, but LAFC found a way.

The first half was a tightly contested affair with both sides trading chances. Son Heung-Min was a constant thorn in Dallas's side, repeatedly getting in behind their backline but finding the final pass just out of reach. The closest LAFC came before the break was in the 23rd minute — Son driving into the box and squaring it to Denis Bouanga, whose low shot to the bottom right corner forced goalkeeper Michael Collodi into a frantic sprawling save.

Dallas had their own moments. Hugo Lloris was called into action multiple times, making sharp saves from Logan Farrington and Bernard Kamungo in the first half to keep the sheet clean heading into the break. Shaq Moore picked up a yellow card in stoppage time for a bad foul on Bouanga, the game's chippy edge beginning to show.

The second half opened with Dallas on the front foot — Lloris denying Farrington from close range just minutes in — but it was LAFC who found the breakthrough. In the 55th minute, Eustaquio fed Martínez from the edge of the area, and the midfielder curled it perfectly into the top left corner. BMO erupted.

Dallas pushed back. Ramiro was booked for a bad foul in the 59th minute, and Mark Delgado briefly went down with an injury. But LAFC kept creating. In the 70th minute, a slick Bouanga-Martínez combination nearly doubled the lead — Martínez threading a through ball over the top, Bouanga meeting it on the volley, only for Collodi to claw it away.

The final twenty minutes belonged to Dallas on paper — corners, blocked efforts from Musa, and desperation in the air — but Lloris and the LAFC backline held firm through seven minutes of added time. A Musa effort in the 90+6' was the closest Dallas came, smothered in the centre of the goal.

When the final whistle blew, it was 1–0. A clean sheet, three points, and the perfect way to open the home slate.

LAFC are up and running in 2026.

Next up, LAFC shift their focus to continental competition, taking on Alajuelense on March 10th in the first leg of the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

LAFC v FC Dallas 3/7/2026; Photo Credits: Felipe Araneda @felishootsphoto