Two of Major League Soccer's most consistently excellent clubs met on Tuesday evening for the first leg of their Round of 16 clash in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and it was Denis Bouanga's Los Angeles FC who came out on top over Columbus Crew by a 3-0 score.
Gabon national team star forward Bouanga was at his best, scoring two goals including a delightful effort just after halftime to put LAFC ahead 2-0. The hosts went ahead in the 20th minute when Bouanga pounced on careless play from the Columbus defense and went around goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to tap into an empty net.
The Golden Boot winner in the 2023 edition of this competition, Bouanga doubled LAFC's lead with a stroke of brilliance right after halftime. Collecting the ball on the left wing, the former AS Saint-Étienne star casually cut inside and flicked a curling effort over Schulte that glanced in off the crossbar.
Nathan Ordaz finished off the victory with LAFC's third late on to put them in an excellent position for next week's second leg in Columbus. The two goals were Bouanga's first of the 2025 season after failing to score in the first two MLS matches of the campaign.
The 2023 MLS Golden Boot winner has 49 goals and 18 assists in 84 league matches since joining during the summer of the 2022 season. Before the second leg, LAFC will travel to face Seattle Sounders on Saturday in MLS play.
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