LOS ANGELES — Rotating forwards Cengiz Ünder and Jeremy Ebobisse into the starting lineup paid off for the Los Angeles Football Club on Wednesday night.
Each attacker scored, as did fellow forward Denis Bouanga, and LAFC stymied the surging Seattle Sounders, splitting the regular-season series with the team that beat the Black & Gold in last year’s MLS Cup playoffs. Midfielder Yaw Yeboah also connected on his first goal with LAFC, punctuating the club’s most lopsided win of the year, 4-0.
Starting for the first time since April 9, when LAFC was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup by Inter Miami, Ünder got rewarded in the 26th minute with his second MLS goal, his first at home, since arriving on a loan in late February.
“Cengiz is a bright spot in the opponent’s half, for sure,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “He’s always available.”
Off a corner kick, Seattle cleared a Denis Bouanga cross out of the box. The ball fell to Ünder and from 30 yards away the Turkish left-footed forward struck a curling shot between traffic that took one hop off the grass and snuck past goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, who leaned the wrong way and barely got a hand on the attempt.
The backup behind Stefan Frei – one of eight changes to Seattle’s starting XI in front of an announced crowd of 22,120 at BMO Stadium – also played in the Sounders’ 5-2 victory over LAFC in March. Thomas didn’t have much to do that day. This time, however, he was under pressure from the opening whistle as LAFC (6-4-3, 21 points) ran its unbeaten streak to six while snapping the Sounders’ five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1).
“I would say for the past five weeks now we’ve been on a very good path,” Cherundolo said. “Very consistent. Guys are doing the little things right again, and I think you’re seeing it in the performances, first and foremost, and the results.”
Making his first start since March 15, Ebobisse provided breathing room for the second consecutive match in front of LAFC’s home supporters. Having put LAFC ahead 2-0 against Houston on May 3, he did the same versus Seattle (5-4-4, 19 points), capitalizing on a terrific pass from LAFC’s side of the pitch into space by midfielder Igor Jesus, who took the ball off the foot of Seattle’s Pedro de la Vega to set up his first assist of the season.
With Seattle’s back line positioned high up the field, and the man marking him 10 to 15 yards inside LAFC’s half, the striker understood if he could get in behind, Jesus had the quality and the vision to put the ball into space.
Ebobisse moved into the box, cut to his right, and struck it low into the corner in the 51st minute.
“First of all, Igor is a machine,” Ebobisse said. “You know if someone is in his area and he has an opportunity to win the ball, he’s going to win it. That allows you to prepare for what’s next.”
Ünder, Ebobisse and midfielder Timothy Tillman were subbed off in the 66th minute. Mark Delgado entered the match for the last half hour alongside Nathan Ordaz and David Martínez.
“Everyone coming off the bench made an impact, and the starters played really well,” said midfielder Frankie Amaya, who played 81 minutes in his first start since joining LAFC in April. “It’s good to have competition and keep each other pushing and pushing.”
Other rotated starters included Ukrainian fullback Artem Smolyakov and center back Marlon Santos, both of whom played through to the end.
Unlike the club’s 2-2 draw last Sunday in Vancouver, LAFC did not defend deep or step off the gas to protect its two-goal lead.
LAFC seemed to grab a third in the 77th minute when Ordaz, missing one of his shoes, fed Martínez inside the box. But the goal was disallowed when Ordaz was called offside, a decision Cherundolo disagreed with.
But the team soon added another with Bouanga’s sixth goal of the year in the 80th minute, off an assist from Martínez, and the fifth goal for Yeboah in 81 MLS matches sealed a dominant performance in which LAFC outpassed, outpossessed, outshot and simply outplayed the Sounders.
Three saves preserved Hugo Lloris’ fifth shutout in 12 regular-season starts.
“Ultimately, the first goal did go our way and we didn’t let up after that,” Ebobisse said. “So, complete performance, I thought. To keep a clean sheet is always good. It’s a result of not just the back line and the goalkeeper, but the whole system that we’re working on defensively and really validating that. And four goals, getting those late goals, they’re just confident boosters for everyone involved.”
LAFC plays its third game in eight days when the club visits the winless Galaxy on Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park for the first El Trafico of 2025.
