Vela strikes again in LAFC thrashing of Montreal

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:22 am

Carlos Vela took his MLS leading goals tally to 15 as LAFC thrashed the visiting Montreal Impact 4-2 at Banc of California Stadium on Friday night.

The win extends LAFC's unbeaten run to seven games and keeps them undefeated at home with a record of seven wins and one draw.

Goalkeeper Evan Bush gifted the hosts their opening goal, misplaying the ball out of the back and allowing Christian Ramirez to block his clearance into the back of the net.

MLS goals leader Vela then pulled the strings for the next two goals, getting in behind the Montreal defense and beating Bush to double LAFC's lead before picking out Diego Rossi, who squared to Latif Blessing for a tap in to make it 3-0 at half-time.

Vela looked to have struck again at the start of the second half with a cheeky chip over Bush after another Montreal giveaway, but the linesman's flag was up for offside and the goal was ruled out.

MLS goals leader Carlos Vela celebrates after scoring for LAFC against the Montreal Impact.
MLS goals leader Carlos Vela celebrates after scoring for LAFC against the Montreal Impact.
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However, the Western Conference leaders scored seconds later when Tristan Blackmon lost his marker in the penalty area and powered home a header from a corner kick to make it 4-0.

LAFC's Eddie Segura redirected the ball into his own net from an Impact cross to give the visitors their first goal. Saphir Taïder then scored from the penalty spot to halve the deficit as full-time approached after Walker Zimmerman brought down Anthony Jackson-Hamel in the area.

Despite playing their fourth game in 14 days, LAFC showed no signs of fatigue, outshooting the Impact by a 17-9 margin (10-6 in shots on goal), in a match that seemed more lopsided than those statistics might suggest.

Bush's error notwithstanding, the goalkeeper often looked outstanding in making six saves to keep the final score respectable. The Impact have just one victory (1-3-1) over their past five matches.

The win means Bob Bradley's team have now earned 34 points from its first 15 matches to top the Western Conference and stay nine ahead of the third-placed Galaxy, who beat Orlando City on Friday, and eight points ahead of the Seattle Sounders, who play Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.