LAFC edges Tigres as club welcomes Son Heung-min

LOS ANGELES — While the Los Angeles Football Club still needs significant help to advance to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals, it left Tuesday night with a string of positive building blocks.

LAFC earned a victory over arguably the strongest side in Liga MX and got a glimpse into its imminent riches.

“I thought it was an excellent performance,” head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “A lot of grit, tactical discipline, good positioning.”

LAFC defeated Club Tigres 2-1 in the final match of the group stage as both teams finished with six points. While each side sits in the top four of their respective league standings, neither controls their destiny in the tournament.

That may be the only apprehension regarding LAFC’s future. LAFC made the most expensive splash in MLS history Tuesday, paying a reported $26 million transfer fee for Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min.

Son arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and was shown sitting in a suite on the video board to a raucous reaction from BMO Stadium. His appearance came moments after LAFC scored its first goal of the night — a penalty kick from David Martinez. Martinez completed a brace in the 63rd minute, his second goal proving the difference.

Martinez’s impact was foreseeable as he was the only player on LAFC with a footing through the first 30 minutes of Tuesday’s match. He produced a pair of feeble attempts on goal, while Tigres controlled the possession.

French striker André-Pierre Gignac had two chances inside the box in the first 20 minutes, neither successful. Matters grew seemingly worse for LAFC when striker Jeremy Ebobisse pulled up grabbing his left hamstring in the 29th minute.

Timothy Tillman replaced Ebobisse and made an immediate impact. In his first action, he latched onto a pass from Martinez, cut back into the middle of the box and forced Fernando Gorriarán to tackle him.

Tillman drew a penalty, to which Tigres’ goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán and midfielder Diego Lainez took issue as each received a yellow card for arguing the ruling. Despite the stall between the foul and the penalty kick itself, Martinez coolly stepped up to the spot and knocked the ball into the top right corner to give LAFC a lead.

Tigres tied it up early in the second half, capitalizing on an unnecessary foul. Javier Aquino took down Lainez, setting up a free kick from well outside the box, but Juan Brunetta swung in a cross that found Edgar Lopez’s head and then the back of the net. Lopez had replaced Gignac at halftime and scored on his first touch.

Despite conceding a tying goal, LAFC seemed more comfortable in the second half than the first.

“At halftime, we made a formational change, which allowed our midfielders to have a little more of the game and for us to control the middle of the park a little better,” Cherundolo said.

In the 63rd minute, LAFC’s midfield sparked the attack that resulted in a second goal.

Substitute midfielder Marco Delgado dispossessed Tigres and found Frankie Amaya, who played it to Artem Smalyakov. Smalyakov shuffled past a defender and found Martinez in stride. The Columbian did the rest, holding off Tigres’ defense before slotting a shot under Guzmán.

“He’s working harder and he’s pushing himself,” Cherundolo said of Martinez, who has now tallied three goals in as many Leagues Cup matches.

Tigres threatened to score on a pair of set pieces during injury time with Gorriarán barely skying a header in the 95th minute, but LAFC survived.

They can now look forward, hoping the results of the remaining MLS teams break in their favor and they can progress to the quarterfinal of the Leagues Cup for a third consecutive season.

Regardless of that, excitement is present for Tuesday’s victory and the introduction of Son.

“It’s crazy,” LAFC defender Ryan Reposo said of Son’s signing. “From an Asian background, myself being Chinese, he’s the best player in Asia by far. I saw him in the stands, and thought, ‘This guy’s watching me play, that’s kind of great.’

“We’re going to need him and I’m excited to see his quality.”

LAFC will hold a press conference on Wednesday at 2 p.m. to introduce their newest acquisition.