A Hugo Lloris performance for the ages was not enough to secure three points for Los Angeles FC on Saturday, as Reid Roberts struck in the 90th minute to earn San Jose Earthquakes a 2-2 draw at Levi’s Stadium. Son Heung-min opened the scoring in the first half and set up Denis Bouanga’s second-half strike, but LAFC were reduced to 10 men following Aaron Long’s red card at the 37th minute, and San Jose eventually made the numerical advantage count. Preston Judd had pulled one back for the hosts in the 70th, before Roberts completed the comeback with virtually the last meaningful action of the game.
Key Moments
- 34′, Son Heung-min put LAFC ahead, finishing a move started by Mark Delgado to give the visitors the lead at Levi’s Stadium.
- 37′, Aaron Long was shown a straight red card, leaving LAFC to defend with 10 men for the rest of the match.
- 53′, Denis Bouanga doubled the lead early in the second half, converting an assist from Son Heung-min to make it 2-0 to the visitors.
- 70′, Preston Judd, a second-half substitute, pulled one back for San Jose to set up a tense finish.
- 73′, Son Heung-min had a goal ruled out by VAR for a foul, a decision that denied LAFC what would have been a commanding 3-1 lead.
- 90′, Defender Reid Roberts headed or finished home a Beau Leroux assist to level at 2-2, punishing LAFC for failing to protect their advantage.
Tactical Breakdown
LAFC’s task for most of this match was almost impossibly difficult on paper. With 69 percent of possession against them, just three shots to San Jose’s 21, and an xG of 0.36 compared to the Earthquakes’ 1.11, Marc Dos Santos’s side survived almost entirely on Lloris’s brilliance and the clinical finishing of Son Heung-min and Bouanga in the rare moments they threatened. The plan was working for an hour, but 10 men cannot absorb that kind of pressure indefinitely.
Long’s red card in the 37th minute forced LAFC into an immediate recalibration. Armindo Sieb was withdrawn at halftime, with Nkosi Tafari brought on to shore up the defensive shape. The visitors responded well initially, with Bouanga adding a second just eight minutes into the second half to give them what appeared to be a commanding cushion. The VAR disallowance of Son Heung-min’s 73rd-minute goal proved pivotal: a 3-1 lead at that stage would likely have settled the contest.
San Jose’s volume of attacking play was relentless. Bruce Arena’s side registered 15 corner kicks, nine shots on target and eight blocked attempts, and their persistence through substitute contributions ultimately broke LAFC down. Judd’s goal on 70 minutes altered the dynamic entirely, and once the Earthquakes sensed the opportunity, a 10-man LAFC defense that had Lloris making seven saves could only hold on for so long. Roberts’s equalizer in stoppage time was the product of constant pressure and poor game management by the visitors in the final stages.
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Verdict
The draw leaves San Jose fourth in the Western Conference on 41 points, one ahead of Los Angeles FC in sixth on 40. Both clubs remain in the playoff picture, but the point gained will feel more valuable to the Earthquakes, who came from two goals down with 10 men against them and still found a way. LAFC, meanwhile, drop a result they appeared to have secured and remain a point behind the teams directly above them, with their position in the standings still tightly contested.