Son Heung-min takes nine shots and scores none — LAFC draw Portland 1-1
Son Heung-min took nine shots and did not score as LAFC drew 1-1 with the Portland Timbers at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. David da Costa put Portland ahead in the 4th minute and Denis Bouanga equalised in the 79th. Son started and played the full 90 minutes. LAFC stayed third in the Western Conference on 35 points from 10 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses
The three lines
- Match — LAFC 1-1 Portland. Da Costa 4', Bouanga 79'
- Son — started, played 90 minutes, nine shots, no goal. A sixth match without scoring
- Standings — LAFC 10-5-7, 35 points, third in the Western Conference
Key questions
- How did Son Heung-min play against Portland?
- **Nine shots, no goal.** He started and played the full **90 minutes** at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Nine shots is a high single-match count — it means the ball kept reaching him in shooting positions, and it also means none of the nine went in. The match finished **1-1**. Portland's **David da Costa** scored in the 4th minute and **Denis Bouanga** curled in the equaliser for LAFC in the 79th.
- Why isn't Son scoring?
- He scored in each of his first four matches after returning from the World Cup, and has now gone **six matches** without a goal. This page covered the end of that scoring run on August 22 in **Son's four-match scoring run ends**. What this particular match shows, though, is not an absence of chances. Nine shots suggests the openings are still being created. Whether the difference lay in finishing, in goalkeeping, or in shot selection would require shot-level data — shots on target, expected goals — which this page could not obtain.
- Where does this leave LAFC?
- **Third in the Western Conference**, on **35 points** from **10 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses**. The point earned here held that position. MLS splits its regular season into Eastern and Western Conferences, and conference standings determine the playoff bracket and home advantage. With the season entering its closing stretch, a single place in the table converts into whether a playoff tie is played at home — which is why a draw is worth more, or less, than the single point suggests.
Nine shots in one match.
No goal.
At BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, LAFC and the Portland Timbers drew 1-1. Son Heung-min started and played all 90 minutes. The match was played on Saturday evening local time and reported as August 23 in Korea.
1. How it went
| Minute | Event |
|---|---|
| 4' | Portland's David da Costa opens the scoring (0-1) |
| — | LAFC press; Son shoots repeatedly |
| 79' | LAFC's Denis Bouanga equalises (1-1) |
| FT | 1-1 |
Conceding in the 4th minute set the shape of the evening. For nearly the whole match LAFC pushed, and Son was at the end of that pressure.
The equaliser came from Bouanga, LAFC's leading scorer this season and the other half of the attacking pair Son plays alongside.
2. Reading nine shots
Nine is a high single-match total, and it points two ways at once.
| Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Positive | The team is finding him, and he is reaching shooting positions |
| Negative | Nine attempts produced nothing |
Which reading dominates depends on shots on target and expected goals. A high xG that did not convert points to goalkeeping or luck; a low xG points to shot selection and position.
This page could not obtain shot-level data for the match, so it does not adjudicate.
One thing is clear either way — the chances are still being created. A match with nine attempts describes a different problem from a match with one.
3. Six matches
| Stretch | Record |
|---|---|
| After returning from the World Cup | Scored in four consecutive matches |
| Since | Six matches without a goal |
This page covered the end of that run on August 22 in Son's four-match scoring run ends — LAFC lose 0-1 and give up top spot in the West. Six days later, the drought stands at six.
The wider season complicates the simple reading. Son scored twice inside 23 minutes at the MLS All-Star Game in July and was named MVP. This looks less like a decline in performance than a stretch in which the results are not attaching to it.
4. The table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Record | 10 W, 5 D, 7 L |
| Points | 35 |
| Position | Third, Western Conference |
The point kept LAFC third. MLS divides its regular season into Eastern and Western Conferences, and conference position sets the playoff bracket and which side hosts.
That converts an abstract place in the table into something concrete. In the closing stretch, a draw is not simply one point — it is a step toward or away from a home tie.
5. What is not confirmed
- Season totals — Son's cumulative 2026 goals and assists differ between trackers by update time and are not fixed here.
- Shot detail — shots on target and expected goals were unavailable, so finishing and goalkeeping are not weighed against each other.
- The date — the match was played Saturday evening local time; this page uses the Korea-time date of August 23, consistent with its source.
- Portland's standing — could not be verified for the date.
- Next checkpoint — LAFC's next fixture, with both third place and the scoring drought riding on it.
Sources
- Korea JoongAng Daily — Son Heung-min fires nine shots as LAFC draw Portland Timbers
- MLSsoccer.com — Son Heung-Min player page
- Los Angeles Football Club — Son Heung-Min player page
- ESPN — Son Heung-Min, LAFC Forward
- ESPN — Son Heung-Min Career Stats (MLS)
- LiveScore — Son Heung-min Season Stats, Los Angeles FC