On two occasions throughout the history of Major League Soccer have teams started faster than LAFC in 2019. That's it.
Carlos Vela has led his side to a blistering 6-0-1 start to 2019, the club scoring 21 goals in the process, thanks in large part to Vela's 8g/5a. The club have been stout defensively, too, conceding just five times.
They have another two matches this week, starting with a midweek fixture on Wednesday against the Vancouver Whitecaps (10 pm ET | TSN in Canada, MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US) before facing fellow unbeaten Seattle Sounders on Sunday (7 pm ET | FS1 in US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada).
With six wins and a draw through seven games, only 2012 Sporting Kansas City and 1996 LA Galaxy have done better, each winning all of their seven opening matches.
Best start through seven games
Year |
Team |
Record |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1996 |
LA Galaxy |
7-0-0 |
21 |
2012 |
Sporting Kansas City |
7-0-0 |
21 |
2019 |
LAFC |
6-0-1 |
19 |
1998 |
LA Galaxy |
6-0-1 |
19 |
2000 |
Kansas City Wizards |
6-0-1 |
19 |
2005 |
New England Revolution |
6-0-1 |
19 |
2010 |
LA Galaxy |
6-0-1 |
19 |
The 1996 Galaxy slowed down after their hot start, finishing with 49 points but made it to MLS Cup and fell to D.C. United. SKC in 2012 narrowly missed out on the Supporters' Shield and were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals.
The 1998 Galaxy won the Supporters' Shield and long held the league's single-season record for points in the season, but lost in the Western Conference finals. The 2000 Kansas City Wizards parlayed their hot start to winning MLS Cup.
What will 2019 have in store for LAFC?
