February 17 – There are good starts to a game, and then there are dream starts. At Estadio Francisco Morazán in the capital of Honduras, San Pedro Sula, LAFC had the latter.
After just 55 seconds when David Martínez was fouled in the penalty area by Juan Capeluto after a sensational dummy. LAFC all time goal scorer, Denis Bouanga, made no mistake from 12 yards, and the tone was set for a 6-1 thumping in the 1st leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup, round of 32, as the visitors from the United States ran riot.
Ten minutes later, a Real España corner kick was brutally dealt with as the South Korean superstar Son Heung-Min, attracted three defenders on a lightning-fast counter-attack and fed Martínez.
The finish was surgical by the Venezuelan, and in just their first competitive game of the season under new coach, Canadian, Marc Dos Santos, the visitors had silenced the partisan crowd.
In the 20th minute, the lead was extended after Bouanga was brought down by Carlos Mejía, again in the penalty area. Match referee, Marco Antonio Ortíz Nava was called over by VAR, and after an agonizing wait, he stuck with his original decision and pointed to the penalty spot. Son, dispatched the kick to make it 3-0.
Three would become four in the blink of an eye. The Bouanga/Son combination proved way too hot for the humid Honduran night as they combined, allowing LAFC’s top scorer to slide a clinical finish into the far corner for his brace.
Six minutes before half-time, Timothy Tillman showed real class with a sexy flick of the back of his right foot after a pull-back from Son, and incredibly the road team were 5-0 to the good, leaving the usually rabid Estadio Francisco Morazán sounding more like a library.
Nava’s whistle mercifully put to an end a first half that will have sent a fearsome message to every club in the 2026 edition of the Champions Cup that may face LAFC, as the team from Southern California were unstoppable.
With 45 minutes and pride to play for Real España, needed a fast start to the second half. Jeaustin Campos made two changes for the home team, bringing on Nixon Cruz and Anfronit Tatum. Six minutes later, Jack Jean-Baptiste finally gave the home crowd something cheer about as his header from Jhow Benavídez’s cross beat World Cup winner Hugo Lloris in LAFC’s goal.
With an eye on the return leg, Dos Santos made three changes, replacing Son, Martínez, and Stephen Eustaquio with Tyler Boyd, Nathan Ordaz, and Mathieu Choinière. Both Boyd and Ordaz made immediate impacts with shots that had Luis Lopez interested.
In the 71st minute, Bouanga completed his hat trick with a right-footed shot that unerringly found the bottom left-hand corner of Lopez’s goal with an assist from Sergi Palencia. Ten minutes later, he left the pitch to a standing ovation as the home crowd acknowledged a master goal scorer at the top of his game.
It takes plenty to silence a Real España home crowd, but in the course of 90 scintillating minutes, LAFC have thrown down a marker to all in the region. Despite going through a managerial change, the club has not missed a beat, and under the leadership of Dos Santos, they look like a better outfit than last season.
There is a return leg to be played next week at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, but with a five-goal advantage, LAFC will surely rest some players, especially with the visit of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami this coming weekend.
Real España (Hon) 1 v 6 LAFC (USA)