Los Angeles Football Club crashed the party of the grand re-opening of renovated Providence Park with a 3-2 win over the Portland Timbers Saturday night.
Carlos Vela got things started quickly for the Supporters’ Shield leaders with a gift of a goal in the sixth minute. He picked off an errant short ball played by Jeff Attinella for Jorge Villafana and easily slotted past the goalkeeper for his league-leading 16th goal of the season.
Diego Rossi doubled the lead in the 34th minute, slipping into space to latch onto a Tristan Blackmon cross from 12 yards out.
Cristhian Paredes pulled the Timbers to within a goal in the opening minute of the second half, knocking a rebound past Tyler Miller. But Latif Blessing maintained the two-goal lead in the 54th minute, getting onto the end of a Jordan Harvey cross and volleying in from the edge of the six-yard box.
Brian Fernandez provided a late lifeline with a stunning bicycle kick six minutes from full time in a match that had a nasty tone, especially in the final quarter hour and in the 12 minutes of second-half stoppage time.
Goals
- 6’ — LAFC — Carlos Vela | WATCH
- 34’ — LAFC — Diego Rossi | WATCH
- 46’ — POR — Cristhian Paredes | WATCH
- 54’ — LAFC — Latif Blessing | WATCH
- 84’ — POR — Brian Fernandez | WATCH
Three Things
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: With Providence Park buzzing, Vela silenced all but the 1,000 or so visiting fans with this opening goal off a brutal Attinella gaffe.
Next Up
- POR: Wednesday, June 12 at Seattle Sounders FC, US Open Cup (10:30 pm ET | ESPN+ in US)
- LAFC: Tuesday, June 11 at Real Salt Lake, US Open Cup (10:00 pm ET | ESPN+ in US)
