LAFC was the team to start this season, looking borderline invincible after a red-hot introduction. Across all competitions, the Black and Gold kicked off 2026 with a whopping 11-match undefeated run, including a victorious Concacaf Champions Cup stretch that saw LAFC dominate both Alajuelense and Cruz Azul. Their record-setting 571-minute shutout to start the regular season had every club in the league recognizing LAFC as a serious contender right off the bat.

In regular-season play, South Korean superstar Son Heung-Min logged seven assists in six matches, with Denis Bouanga notching six goals and three assists in that same period. As an attacking unit, they were the best duo in the league, and every defensive line shuddered at the mere thought of taking them on. Six matchdays into a 34-game season is early, but LAFC fans could be forgiven for already beginning to envision that 2026 MLS Cup trophy parade.

Then, suddenly, everything started going south. It began when Marc Dos Santos put out an almost entirely rotated lineup against the Portland Timbers in an effort to give the squad a well-earned break amid the Cruz Azul series. The Timbers shocked LAFC fans with a 2-1 victory, and the momentum started to dwindle.

Starting keeper Hugo Lloris’ shutout streak was still intact, but in the squad’s next regular-season fixture, they kept sliding. His own record ended at 593 minutes when he gave up the goal to an absurdly effective San Jose side. Then he gave up three more. LAFC’s only goal in that fateful matchup was a San Jose own goal.

But there was still hope — the Portland loss could be attributed to rotation, and San Jose has been on a scoring spree for weeks that now has them on top of the Supporters’ Shield standings. They’re probably the toughest opponent in the league at the moment. LAFC earned a mulligan with their early-season run of form, and as long as they could pull one back against middle-of-the-table Colorado Rapids, things didn’t seem so dire.

Then Colorado came to LAFC’s house and held them to a 0-0 draw, with LAFC managing only a paltry 28% possession at home. Strike three, Los Angeles. 

We haven’t seen that same telepathic chemistry between Bouanga and Son as of late, leading to a goal drought aside from one perfect strike by 17-year-old Jude Terry. The once-solid defense has been slipping up and allowing too much space. The side has had no major injuries or personnel changes, and all their potential is still there, but it seems to have gone dormant after their jam-packed streak of early-season success. One more loss in the books could really tank this team’s mentality, and I’d wager they’re going to be hungrier this weekend than they’ve been all year. Of course, they also head into the Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals against Toluca just four days later, so their interests will be divided once more.

Meanwhile, Minnesota has been defining their identity, climbing the table, and digging deep into a rich vein of form that has them on a six-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. Ahead of Matchday 10, they have the exact same record as LAFC: 5-2-2 with 17 points in nine games. The Loons are flying, LAFC is falling, and now they’ve met in the middle, setting the stage for the most exciting matchup of the season so far. 

LAFC has slotted into third in the West, just ahead of Minnesota due to a drastic gap in goal differential, and they have only a single win on the road. If the visitors want to get a win in the books, they’re going to need to turn back time and start producing at the same level they were earlier in the year.