LAFC had a historic night on Wednesday dispatching Real Salt Lake on the road as they chase a top finish in the Western Conference.

Not only did summer signing Son Heung-min score his first hat-trick for the club, but Denis Bouanga bagged a 94th goal of his Black and Gold career becoming LAFC’s all-time top scorer. It was a title that Carlos Vela had a firm grasp on until Wednesday night.

“I’m simply really happy to have surpassed Carlos’s record and I’d like to thank the team for allowing me to do so,” the Gabon international said after the game. “I just wanted to say that’s just the beginning. I’m planning on scoring way more.”

Since coming over from Saint-Étienne in 2022, Bouanga has established himself as one of the best in Major League Soccer. The following season, he won the MLS and Concacaf Champions League Golden Boot awards, and is a three-time MLS All-Star.

Vela, still the club leader in games played, minutes, and assists, is one of the most decorated players in league history. The 2019 MLS Most Valuable Player holds the record for most goals (34) in a single season. The Mexican star retired at 35, so 30-year-old Bouanga putting considerable space between he and Vela doesn’t seem improbable after throwing down a personal challenge after the game.

After the game, LAFC highlighted key statistics of Bouanga’s historic goal:

  • Vela assisted on eight of Bouanga’s 94 goals, more than any other LAFC player. Other leaders among LAFC players who assisted Bouanga: Mateusz Bogusz (six assists), Ryan Hollingshead (five), Sergi Palencia (five), Timothy Tillman (four), Diego Palacios (four).
  • If Bouanga scores two more goals in LAFC’s final six matches, he will become the first player in MLS history to record three straight 20-goal seasons.

In MLS alone, Bouanga has 84 goal involvements (60 goals, 24 assists) in 97 total appearances. As well, in a strange happenstance of events, Son and Bouanga traded places compared to their victory over the weekend against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Against Californian opposition, Son opened the scoring while Bouanga netted a hat-trick. The inverse happened as two of MLS’s best prepare for the MLS Cup Playoffs. Both players are becoming more accustomed to playing with each other while putting opposing teams on notice.

LAFC are in action again this weekend taking on Real Salt Lake once again, this time at home, as the Decision Day looms.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Denis Bouanga Etches Name Into LAFC History Books Overtaking Club Legend .

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