LOS ANGELES — Through regulation and four stoppage-time minutes, the Los Angeles Football Club leaned on Hugo Lloris for the second straight match at BMO Stadium, sharing a point with Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in a scoreless draw.
After a club-record tying seven saves in his LAFC debut during the opening day victory against Seattle, Lloris denied six Kansas City shots, including a diving stop on Sporting striker Alan Pulido late in the match.
“We managed to get a clean sheet,” Lloris said. “That’s positive. And it’s a mixed feeling because when you go on the field you just want to win. When it doesn’t happen you need to analyze and make yourself better.”
A shortage of shots — six on goal for each side — materialized in different ways.
Sporting (0-0-3, 3 points) dominated possession and tempo.
LAFC (1-1-1, 4 points) pushed transition opportunities after attempting to build out of the back proved difficult for the home side.
One day after signing a two-year contract extension through 2028, last year’s MLS Golden Boot winner, attacker Denis Bouanga, remained goalless on the season.
Bouanga’s chances (two of his six shots were on target) ended with a weak attempt in the box in the 81st minute directly at SKC goalkeeper Tim Melia.
“Not his best performance tonight,” Cherundolo said regarding the star forward. “Forcing things. Making some poor decisions. For attackers a lot of times it’s all or nothing, and sometimes attackers are terrible for 89 minutes but come up with a big goal in the end.
“That opportunity was there for Denis tonight. It didn’t happen. Certainly not his best game and he needs to improve on the training field. For us to be successful we need Denis in form, and I have no doubt he will be back. There has been an uptick in training everyday, but certainly we expect more out of him.”
Without Carlos Vela to start the season — the longtime LAFC captain remains in talks with the club about a new…
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