Son Heung-min, with heightened goal-scoring touch, aims for consecutive goals against Real Salt Lake.

Scheduled to play against Real Salt Lake on the 18th at 10:30 AM.

Son Heung-min reciprocating the cheers of fans [AFP=Yonhap News]

"Son-sational" Son Heung-min (33, LAFC), who has sharpened his goal-scoring touch with his first free-kick goal and then his first open-play goal, will aim for his second consecutive goal in Major League Soccer (MLS).

Los Angeles (LA) FC will play an away game against Real Salt Lake in the 2025 MLS regular season on the 18th at 10:30 AM Korean time, at America First Field in Salt Lake City, Utah.

With seven games remaining in the regular season, LAFC currently holds a record of 12 wins, 8 draws, and 7 losses (44 points), ranking them 5th in the Western Conference, making a playoff spot, which is awarded to the top 9 teams, highly probable.

In MLS, the top 7 teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences directly qualify for the playoffs, while teams ranked 8th and 9th must compete in a playoff wildcard round for one additional playoff spot.

The first round of the playoffs will feature matchups between 1st vs. 8th (or 9th), 2nd vs. 7th, 3rd vs. 6th, and 4th vs. 5th, to determine the teams advancing to the semifinals and finals.

The top 4 teams in each conference will have the advantage of playing their first-round playoff matches at home, making regular-season standings crucial.

Finally, the winners of the Eastern and Western Conferences will face off in a single-elimination match to determine the MLS Cup champion.

LAFC, who first won the MLS Cup in 2022, advanced to the playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference last year, reaching the semifinals, but were defeated by Seattle Sounders, failing to achieve back-to-back championships.

Son Heung-min celebrating after scoring a goal [AFP=Yonhap News]

LAFC aims to recapture the glory of their 2022 MLS Cup victory by signing "world-class forward" Son Heung-min last month, and Son has lived up to expectations, recording 2 goals and 1 assist in 5 regular-season matches.

Son Heung-min contributed to a 2-2 draw against Chicago Fire in his MLS debut on August 10th by drawing a penalty kick in the 32nd minute of the second half. In the match against New England Revolution on August 17th, he recorded his first assist and his first attacking point in his first full match, rewarding fans' expectations.

He finally scored his first MLS goal in his third appearance on August 24th against FC Dallas with a spectacular free-kick.

Son Heung-min narrowly missed out on scoring in consecutive games on September 1st against San Diego FC when he hit the post, but he scored his first open-play goal with a "lightning goal" just 42 seconds into the first half against San Jose Earthquakes on September 14th.

With his goal-scoring touch sharpened, Son Heung-min will once again aim for consecutive goals in the upcoming match against Real Salt Lake.

LAFC is considered to have one of the most formidable strike partnerships in MLS since the signing of Son Heung-min.

Denis Bouanga, who partners with Son Heung-min, has been a key attacking player for LAFC for four seasons since 2022, scoring 93 goals in 144 official matches.

Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga [AFP=Yonhap News]

Bouanga recorded a hat-trick in the previous match against San Jose and is currently ranked 3rd in the league with 18 goals this season.

While Bouanga was solely responsible for LAFC's attack, the synergy between him and Son Heung-min is now clearly evident.

Since Son Heung-min's arrival, LAFC has secured 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss in 5 regular-season games, a solid performance that has moved them closer to playoff qualification.

Notably, Real Salt Lake, whom LAFC will face, has dropped to 10th place and struggles offensively, having scored only 30 goals in 28 games, the fewest among Western Conference teams. This makes them an ideal opponent for Son Heung-min to achieve his first consecutive goals in MLS.

Meanwhile, LAFC will host Real Salt Lake again on the 22nd, following this away game. Yonhap News