LAFC defeated the Seattle Sounders 3-0 on Tuesday night at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
Brian Rodríguez opened the scoring for LAFC in the 21st minute when he slotted a one-timed finish through the legs of Stefan Frei.
Latif Blessing doubled the lead for the hosts in the third minute of first-half stoppage time when he flicked a deflected cross into the net.
The Sounders nearly halved the deficit right after the second-half whistle when Nouhou rattled the crossbar with a header. Fredy Montero almost scored one himself a minute later when his header was saved by Jamal Blackman.
LAFC extended their lead to 3-0 in the 51st minute when Cristian Arango’s shot from distance took a deflection and skipped past Frei.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Moving on
Sometimes, you just have to throw out a match as quickly as possible and move on to the next one. It’s hard to take too much stock into Tuesday night’s result as João Paulo was suspended because of yellow-card accumulation, and sometimes it just isn’t your night.
Lodeiro returns
A bright spot for the Sounders was the return of captain Nicolás Lodeiro, who came on in the 67th minute for his first appearance since Sept. 11. He’s played just eight matches all year while battling injuries.
Final home match awaits
The Sounders will have their final regular-season home match next Monday night when they welcome the LA Galaxy to Lumen Field (7 p.m. PT; Twitter, FOX 13+, Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM | TICKETS). Seattle will then travel to British Columbia to take on Cascadia rival the Vancouver Whitecaps on Decision Day (3 p.m. PT; FOX 13+, KUNS, Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
