Inter Miami Vs Lafc: LAFC hand reigning champions a 3-0 lesson at the Coliseum
inter miami vs lafc ended in a 3-0 defeat for the reigning MLS Cup champions as LAFC quelled Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF on opening day, a result that reshapes early Matchday 1 narratives in the 2026 MLS season.
Marc Dos Santos wins in his first game as LAFC head coach; Martínez, Bouanga and Ordaz score
LAFC secured a 3-0 victory with goals from David Martínez, Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz. Marc Dos Santos called it “good to win like this and still have so much margin to progress, ” saying after the match — his first in charge of LAFC — “Now we want to play and build the team. ”
Martínez opened the scoring in the 38th minute with an assist from Son Heung-min, and Bouanga doubled the lead in the 73rd minute. Nathan Ordaz added a stoppage-time finish to seal the result.
Inter Miami Vs Lafc at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew 75, 673, the second-highest MLS crowd ever
The match was staged inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and drew 75, 673 fans, a crowd described as the second-highest attended MLS match ever. The fixture was moved out of LAFC’s usual BMO Stadium into the 100-year-old concrete Coliseum in part to contain what many had expected from Messi’s draw; cameras were everywhere, and pink shirts were present but fewer than expected. Son Heung-min’s supporters were particularly visible and vocally influential on the night.
LAFC’s recent form and travel: a 6-1 Concacaf win and a quick turnaround from Honduras
The result built on momentum from earlier in the week, when Martínez and Bouanga also scored in a 6-1 win at Real España in LAFC’s 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One opener. Dos Santos noted the squad’s schedule — they played Tuesday in Honduras, endured a very long flight and had one day of training before the match — and said that being “able to suffer as a team” was an important quality.
Inter Miami’s title defense looked vulnerable despite 68 percent possession and their playoff haul
Inter Miami entered the season as the reigning MLS Cup presented by Audi champions after a 2025 playoff run that produced 20 goals in six games and the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy. On Saturday the Herons held 68 percent possession but mustered only one big chance. New designated-player striker Germán Berterame was largely kept quiet, and Lionel Messi — the reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP — did not register a single shot on target.
Key performers and defining moments: Son, Eustáquio, Dayne St. Clair and differing accounts of Bouanga’s goal
Canadian international Stephen Eustáquio, playing as a holding midfielder in his long-awaited MLS debut, was described as central to LAFC’s effort. Son Heung-min provided the assist for Martínez’s 38th-minute opener. Dayne St. Clair, the 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, was beaten on Bouanga’s 73rd-minute strike, a goal that match coverage described variously as a dink over St. Clair into an empty net and as a header from a Timothy Tillman pass from around 50 yards out.
Denis Bouanga offered a postmatch assessment of teammate Martínez’s progression: “We need to push [Martínez] in the field because he has strong quality, but now he has a changed mentality, too, ” Bouanga said. Nathan Ordaz’s late stoppage-time finish was characterized as a dagger that ensured the visitors left Los Angeles deflated.
Dos Santos on Messi containment and areas to improve
Dos Santos praised his team’s defensive preparation for Messi, saying the coaching staff prepared to face “the best Messi possible” and grading that defensive part of their game as an "A+. " He rated LAFC’s possession as a "B, " saying the team can be much better in that phase and wants to improve, while stressing that the squad “were a team, suffered together, were smart dealing with a lot of plays. ”
