Inter Miami humbled as LAFC brush aside inter miami in MLS season opener at Coliseum

LAFC routed the reigning MLS Cup champions inter miami 3-0 on opening day of the 2026 MLS season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in front of 75, 673 fans. The Black & Gold’s win came in Marc Dos Santos’s first match as LAFC head coach and immediately followed a midweek trip for the home side.

Dos Santos wins debut and praises team’s resilience after Honduras trip

Marc Dos Santos celebrated the victory in his first game as LAFC head coach, saying, “It’s good to win like this and still have so much margin to progress. ” He added, “Now we want to play and build the team. ” Dos Santos pointed to LAFC’s midweek schedule — they played Tuesday in Honduras — and noted the travel strain: “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. ” Later he assessed the performance more granularly: “When we prepared for the game, we prepared to face the best Messi possible, ” and rated the defensive work and team cohesion A+ while saying possession was a ‘B’ and could be better.

Goals from Martínez, Bouanga and Ordaz give LAFC a clear win

David Martínez opened the scoring in the 38th minute, finishing a move created by Son Heung-Min’s assist. Denis Bouanga doubled the lead in the 73rd minute, and Nathan Ordaz added a third in stoppage time to seal the 3-0 result. Bouanga’s finish is described in the provided context in two different ways: one description says he dinked the ball over 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair and rolled it into the empty net; another describes a 50-yard pass from Timothy Tillman that Bouanga headed to himself and then finished over Dayne St. Clair. That discrepancy is unclear in the provided context.

Crowd, venue and spectacle at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The match drew 75, 673 spectators to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a venue noted in the context as a 100-year-old concrete stadium. The game was moved out of LAFC’s usual home at BMO Stadium, with the league staging the opener at the Coliseum to contain the Messi effect. The attendance total is presented as both a record-breaking crowd and as the second-highest attended MLS match ever; that contradiction is unclear in the provided context. Observers noted cameras everywhere, pink shirts in the stands but fewer than expected, and that Son Heung-Min’s fans turned out in force.

Inter Miami’s possession, Messi and attacking frustrations

Inter Miami — referred to as the Herons in the provided context — controlled 68 percent possession on the night but created only one big chance. New designated-player striker Germán Berterame was largely held quiet, and Lionel Messi did not record a single shot on target. The coverage also described Messi as having moments that drew reaction, and that Inter Miami looked like a team mindful of a long season and of the World Cup clock already ticking.

Midweek form, Cup run and individual notes from both sides

LAFC had scored earlier in the week as well; Martínez and Bouanga had both found the net in a 6-1 win at Real España in LAFC’s 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One opener. Inter Miami’s run to the Audi 2025 MLS Cup included a 20-goal, six-game stretch en route to the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy. Canadian international Stephen Eustáquio made his long-awaited MLS debut for LAFC as a holding midfielder and was described as central to LAFC’s efforts. Son Heung-Min was identified as a South Korean superstar and provided the first-goal assist for Martínez. Postgame, Denis Bouanga said, “We need to push [Martínez] in the field because he has strong quality, but now he has a changed mentality, too, ” adding, “Last year is not the same to this year, and he knows. ” Marc Dos Santos also remarked from the touchline that he did not think LAFC conceded big chances, saying there were only half-chances and reiterating that the team executed an A+ defensive performance while recognizing room for improvement in possession.