▲ Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC (LAFC) in Major League Soccer (MLS) started on the bench and took to the pitch for the first time in 14 matches.
His team suffered a bitter defeat away against the Colorado Rapids.
Son was substituted in for Timothy Tillman in the 18th minute of the second half, with LAFC trailing 0-1, during the 2026 MLS regular-season away match against Colorado held at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, today (August 20).
However, he failed to record an attacking point, and LAFC fell 0-1 to Colorado.
This was the first time in 14 matches that Son was excluded from LAFC's starting lineup since the match against San Diego on May 3 (a 2-2 draw).
Having endured a gruelling schedule by starting 13 consecutive matches recently, Son had been scoreless in his last four matches, including three Leagues Cup fixtures and regular-season games.
Even in this match, he recorded only one shot on target and failed to produce any attacking points, extending his goalless streak to five games.
LAFC head coach Mark Dos Santos appeared to factor in the tight schedule by implementing a rotation, leaving key players including Son, Denis Bouanga, and Hugo Lloris out of the starting lineup en masse.
Suffering their second consecutive scoreless defeat following the previous match against San Diego FC, LAFC remained stalled in third place in the Western Conference with 34 points.
They trail second-place Vancouver Whitecaps (37 points) by 3 points and first-place Houston (38 points) by 4 points.
Meanwhile, Colorado, which secured three consecutive league wins at home, climbed to seventh place in the league with 28 points.
Facing the first half without key players, LAFC conceded an early lead through an unfortunate own goal.
In the 22nd minute of the first half, a mid-range shot struck by Colorado's Yosief Mlegzi from outside the penalty area deflected off the foot of Jeremy Ebobisse as he attempted to clear it, resulting in an own goal.
Near the end of the first half in the 42nd minute, they barely managed to avert conceding an additional goal thanks to a brilliant save by "third-choice goalkeeper" Cabral Carter.
Carter threw his body to barely block a low-driven shot by Rafael Navarro aimed at the lower right corner of the goal from inside the penalty box, allowing the team to breathe a sigh of relief.
As the sluggish flow continued into the second half without any meaningful counterattacks, Coach Santos played his trump card in the 18th minute of the second half by simultaneously sending on the "Heung-Bu duo," Son and Bouanga.
However, even after regaining attacking momentum with the introduction of the two players, they were blocked by the opponent's dense defense and struggled to create scoring chances.
The shot recorded right before the final whistle blew was Son's first and last shot of the match.
As the given eight minutes of stoppage time were almost over, Son unleashed a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area toward the upper left corner of the goal, but it was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper's save.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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