Inter Miami humbled 3-0 at Coliseum as Son and Bouanga shine

Inter Miami's defense of its MLS Cup title began in disappointing fashion, falling 3-0 to LAFC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The match drew 75, 673 fans — the second-highest attendance in league history — as inter miami and Lionel Messi were outshone by Son Heung-Min, Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz.

Son Heung-Min’s game impact

Son Heung-Min, MLS' record signing, made an impactful start to his first full season in Los Angeles by creating the opening goal. He laid on the assist that allowed David Martínez to score the game's opener in the 37th minute, with other accounts placing Martínez's goal in the 38th minute. Son was taken off late to a rapturous ovation; his replacement, Nathan Ordaz, added the third goal in stoppage time from a cross by Bouanga.

Denis Bouanga's decisive moments

Denis Bouanga doubled LAFC's lead in the 73rd minute. One description has Timothy Tillman playing a long pass over the top of the Miami defense that left goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair stranded outside his penalty area, allowing Bouanga to take the ball round him and slot into an empty net. Another account describes Bouanga meeting a majestic Timothy Tillman pass from about 50 yards, heading it over the head of Dayne St. Clair and into the net; a separate version described Bouanga dinked the ball over St. Clair and rolled it into the empty net. Bouanga is identified in context both as a Gabon international forward and elsewhere as a Frenchman.

Inter Miami title defense falters

The reigning champions saw their title defense begin poorly in Los Angeles. Inter Miami started with Lionel Messi leading a new-look side without longtime teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, who retired after December's MLS Cup triumph. Coach Javier Mascherano named three debutantes among his starting lineup; Mexico international Germán Berterame led the line ahead of Messi, while new Brazilian arrival Micael started in the center of defense in front of Dayne St. Clair. A fourth newcomer, Argentine full-back Facundo Mura, was introduced at half-time, replacing Ian Fray. A new goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair, was involved in the scoring sequence that left him exposed on Bouanga's second goal. The Herons kept 68 percent possession in one account but produced only one big chance.

Messi, hamstring and World Cup

Messi, 38 years old, was playing his first competitive game of a year in which he is likely to lead Argentina's defense of its World Cup title. He started after recovering from a hamstring injury that caused the postponement of Miami's final preseason friendly in Puerto Rico on Feb. 13. His clearest sight of goal came in first-half stoppage time when he tried to place a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box but just missed the target; another account noted he did not manage a single shot on target in the match.

Coaches' postgame comments and analysis

LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos offered multiple assessments of the performance. He said, "When we prepared the game, we prepared the game against the best Messi possible, " and emphasized crowding Messi and following late runs. He rated LAFC's defending around Messi highly — "A-plus" — while criticizing his side's possession as weaker, using letter grades in different accounts: once calling possession a "D" and elsewhere saying possession was a "B" and that the team "can be much better, and we want to be much better. " Dos Santos also reflected on the team's preparation, saying, "A very positive thing is we played Tuesday in Honduras. We flew a very long flight, we had one day of training, and we were able to suffer as a team. That quality of being able to suffer as a team together is an important quality for a team. "

Mascherano struck a reflective tone after the heavy defeat: "The reality is that they beat us fair and square, that's the truth. " He added, "I think it's often difficult to explain when you lose 3-0, three goals in a match, but my initial analysis gives me the feeling that the result was somewhat misleading. The game as it unfolded, there wasn't that much of a difference. " He concluded that "as coaching staff, we have to analyze the game, not just the result, because if we only focus on the result, we're only making decisions based on whether we win or lose. "

After the match, Denis Bouanga also commented on teammate David Martínez: "We need to push [Martínez] in the field because he has strong quality, but now he has a changed mentality, too. Last year is not the same to this year, and he knows. "

Context and crowd atmosphere

The season opener was staged as MLS opening day, Matchday 1 of the 2026 MLS season, and was moved out of LAFC's usual BMO Stadium into the 100-year-old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to contain the Messi effect. More than 75, 000 showed up; the crowd of 75, 673 was described as the second-highest attended MLS match ever and as a record-breaking crowd. Observers noted cameras everywhere, pink shirts were present but fewer than expected, and Son fans were prominent. Earlier in the week LAFC had also won 6-1 at Real España in their 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One opener, with the first two scorers in this match having also found the net in that earlier win. Canadian international Stephen Eustáquio, making a long-awaited MLS debut, was noted as a central figure playing as a holding midfielder for LAFC.

LAFC stayed compact, absorbed pressure, disrupted Miami's play and punished opportunities when they came: Martínez's early finish, Bouanga's 73rd-minute strike and Ordaz's stoppage-time finish combined for a 3-0 result that left Inter Miami with a heavy opening-day defeat.