It took Los Angeles Football Club more than an hour and a half, but they finally christened Banc of California Stadium in true Hollywood style.
The expansion side's supporters enjoyed a euphoric afternoon as they opened their glittering new home ground. But the visiting Seattle Sounders did their best to spoil the festivities and were mere seconds away from earning a scoreless road draw, only for Laurent Ciman to beat Stefan Frei with a long-range free kick deep into second-half injury time to claim a 1-0 win for LAFC.
Both sides had carved out decent scoring all evening, only for their finishing to desert them at crucial moments. But Ciman's dipping, knuckling strike hoodwinked the Sounders' veteran goalkeeper, slipping past him seconds before the final whistle to deliver the full three points to the hosts.
Goals
- 90+3' - LAFC - Laurent Ciman | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Seattle did well to stifle LAFC's high-octane attack right up until the very end, but the soccer gods gave the SoCal side the late drama the occasion was crying out for.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Ciman's winner is the obvious choice here, but don't sleep on the desperate defending that kept the Sounders off the board earlier in the match, most notably when Steven Beitashour cleared a shot off the line in the first half.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: A week after blasting a free kick into the top corner against his former side the Montreal Impact, Laurent Ciman was the man of the hour once again for LAFC ... and he did some decent work along the back line, too.
Next Up
- LAFC: Saturday, May 5 vs. FC Dallas (4 pm ET; Twitter, Univision in US | MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
- SEA: Saturday, May 5 vs. Columbus Crew SC (4 pm ET; ESPN+ in US | MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
