Alan Pulido silences LAFC at the Banc of California Stadium

Los Angeles Football Club hosted Sporting Kansas City at the Banc of California Stadium in week 16 of the 2021 MLS regular season. The ‘Black & Gold’ needed to win if they wanted to remain in fifth place of the Western Conference, but they couldn’t stop Alan Pulido, who had returned from international duty with the Mexico national team.

Pulido scored his seventh of the season

The Mexican international took advantage of a mistake from LAFC’s goalkeeper Tomás Romero to score the game's opener and his seventh of the campaign. Then in the 28th minute Luis Martins scored his first goal with Sporting Kansas City and the second one of the game.

In the 36th minute, Dániel Sallói scored the third one for the visiting team to extend the lead to 3-0. Right before the break Raheem Edwards hit the far post and if this had gone in, it could have changed the course of the match. The ability of LAFC to respond in the second half was impressive, but they were not sharp enough to find the back of the net.

With the home team controlling the game, Sporting KC found a way to make it 4-0 in the 58th minute thanks to Gadi Kinda. LAFC seemed frustrated because they missed so many clear chances, but kept fighting until the last minute. It would be Danny Musovski, who came in late in the second half, who would score the only goal for LAFC.

Sporting Kansas City's 4-1 road win against LAFC takes them top of the Western Conference with 33 points and a record of 10W-3D-4L. The three points were also special for Sporting KC boss Peter Vermes as he reached his 200th win in all competitions.