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Sporting Kansas City had not won two matches in a row since mid-June, when it scored six goals in a week and took down FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo. Finally, a trend turned back in Kansas City’s favor Saturday night, when it took down Los Angeles FC 2-0.
The win is Kansas City’s second straight after a rough stretch through summer that included six matches without a victory. It was the first time LAFC has lost at home this season.
Saturday’s match was also Sporting’s first against inaugural club LAFC. It came against two familiar faces: former Kansas City players Benny Feilhaber and Latif Blessing, who both play in Los Angeles now after offseason moves.
A face that was unfamiliar to most, though, was LAFC goalkeeper Luis López, who started his first Major League Soccer match.
Sporting’s Gerso Fernandes provided a bit of a rude awakening to the MLS first-timer, scoring in the 17th minute and putting Kansas City up early.
Diego Rubio dispossessed Los Angeles and maneuvered the ball into space and in Fernandes’s direction. Fernandes was waiting on the other end of Rubio’s pass, and slashed the ball across his body and into the opposite corner of the net. His swinging-baseball-bat celebration was the cap on Sporting’s early advantage.
And Ilie Sanchez only added stress to López’s debut later in the night. His score from the spot in the 66th minute doubled Sporting’s lead and settled the 2-0 final tally.
Daniel Salloi was the one who set up the opportunity: The 22-year-old took a shot from distance, right at Lopez’s chest. Lopez was able to bat away the ball, but Felipe Gutierrez came flying into the box to make an attempt at the rebound. At the same time, LAFC’s Dejan Jaković threw his body into the mix, and his boot collided with the side of Gutierrez’s head. The play was reviewed using the VAR system, but the initial penalty call stood.
Ilie stepped to the spot and slipped a rolling PK into the back corner of the net, as López dived the opposite way.
Sporting stands at 12-6-6 now, good for second place in the Western Conference standings. LAFC (10-8-6) falls to fifth.