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| LA FC SNS |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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It's time for Son Heung-min (LAFC) again.
Son Heung-min, who scored his first hat trick in the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS), will try to score three consecutive goals. Son Heung-min will play the home game of the 2025 MLS regular league against Real Salt Lake at BMO Stadium in LA, USA, at 10 a.m. on the 22nd (Korea time). It is the second home game since advancing to LA FC. It's a rematch with Salt Lake in four days.
The world has changed again. He made his MLS debut against the Chicago Fire on the 10th of last month. In the first game, he induced a penalty kick in the 32nd minute of the second half to lead his team to a 2-2 draw. He made his first start in the match against the New England Revolution (2-0 win) on the 17th, and scored his first offensive point by assisting a wedge goal just before the end of the game.
In the match against FC Dallas on the 24th, he scored his MLS debut goal. The proprietary 'Click Ceremony' also made its debut. However, LA FC drew 1 to 1. He made his home debut against San Diego FC on the 1st, but lost 1-2.
The away game against San Jose on the 14th was a turning point. Son Heung-min opened the scoring 54 seconds into the game (official record) to lead LA FC to a 4-2 complete victory. His collaboration with Dennis Buanga, who wrote the hat trick, was also a hot topic.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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Son Heung-min boasted a fatal partnership with Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) at Tottenham. The two scored 47 goals in the English Premier League (EPL). It is by far the first in the EPL's history of offensive unions. LA FC has a bouanga. The U.S. sports media magazine 「Sports Illustrated」 evaluated that Son Heung-min and Buanga are rapidly emerging as the most powerful offensive duo in the league.
Son Heung-min scored a hat trick in the match against Salt Lake on the 18th. He scored three goals in away games to lead LA FC to a 4-1 victory. Buanga also played a role in completing Son Heung-min's hat trick. Son Heung-min scored the first goal in the third minute of the first half. In the 17th minute of the first half, he scored his second goal and completed a multi-goal early. It was 37 minutes into the second half.
Vuanga helped. In the counterattack situation, Buanga had a one-on-one chance with the opposing goalkeeper. It was a great opportunity to finish it in person. However, he chose a pass for Son Heung-min, who was rushing, instead of shooting. Son Heung-min enjoyed the joy of his first hat-trick by pushing the ball towards the defenseless goal.
Son Heung-min's hat trick came in as many as two years after he recorded it against Burnley in the English Premier League (EPL) in September 2023. It was the seventh jubilation in his professional career. Son Heung-min played his name properly, scoring five goals and one assist in six MLS games.
LA FC won two consecutive games and ranked fourth in the Western Conference with 47 points (13 wins, 8 draws, 7 losses). Son Heung-min's momentum is also sky-high. On the 19th, he was selected as the player of the match day.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| MLS 홈페이지 |
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'Migrant Players' is selected for each round by adding up the North-China American Journalists Association (75%) and fan voting (25%) organized by the MLS Secretariat. This is the first time Son Heung-min has been selected as a player of this kind since his MLS debut.
Son Heung-min said after the game, `It's really fun to play with Buanga. Buanga has good skills and speed, and is especially good when there is a lot of space in front of him. There were only two games in which he played as a two-top, but he scored a lot of goals and was able to enjoy it. But I still think I can do three-top and one-top. I think there are a lot of good players, so I think there are a lot of options."
It is a return match against Salt Lake. LA FC coach Steve Cherundolo has high expectations. At the press conference against Salt Lake, Son Heung-min and Buanga are not very capable of penetrating into the back space of the opponent. Both have skills to receive passes in space, penetrate and play in front of the goal. The last two games have shown what they can do. There's an open space, and it's very difficult for defenders to stop if you give them freedom" he said.
He also said "The other party will try to stop our flow. So it's going to be an interesting low matchup. It's rare to play the same team twice a week. It will be interesting to see what kind of power and change your opponent thinks and how we will respond. We want to continue the momentum. There are six remaining games, and I want to win all of them, but I will only think about this game right now."
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| LA FC 영상 캡처 |
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"Son Heung-min is a very good player. It's easy to be with a player of this level. The connection is made naturally. It's really comfortable to be with Son Heung-min. We often stay together, talk, and play the same soccer. It's comfortable to be with him off the field as well."
After achieving the hat trick, Son Heung-min performed a 'forward roll' ceremony similar to Buanga's proprietary 'Air protrusion'. Buanga said, `Son Heung-min told me that if I get a hat trick, I'll do the same ceremony"There is one thing I said with Son Heung-min in this game, but I can't say it now. Surprise," he said with a big smile.
As for the assist to Son Heung-min "He could have scored a goal himself. I had an open chance, and everything was open. But I scored a hat-trick just before, and I know how it feels. I'm in a race to be the top scorer, but it was more important for me to pass than score"I was very happy to pass well at that time. We were delighted together, and Son Heung-min deserved a hat-trick. It was very good for the club. It was perfect for the fans, too," he added.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
