Portland Extends Unbeaten Run to Seven Games

One game before they meet their city rivals in El Trafico, LAFC faced off Portland Timbers who arrived with a 6-game unbeaten streak.

The first fifteen minutes were dominated by LAFC who had a couple of missed chances by Cristian Arango and Michee Ngalina, despite first-half stats showing Portland Timbers maintained 51.4% of possession.

The opening goal came in the 45th minute of the first half when Blanco chipped a pass over the defense for Dairon Asprilla to chase. As the defenders attempted to clear the ball, Asprilla gained possession and sent midfielder Yimmi Chara on a through ball on goal. Chara, from the left side, shot hard and low to beat LAFC goalkeeper Jamal Blackman to score his 5th goal of the season.

After eleven minutes in the second-half, LAFC had their opportunity to score. Jose Cifuentes sent in Danny Musovski on goal with a well-placed pass on the right side of goal. Musovski hit it low and diagonally away from Portland Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark, making it 1-1 in the 56th minute.

Not soon after, in the 59th minute Portland Timbers forward, Felipe Mora, created his own opportunity winning a one-on-one battle against LAFC defender Jesus Murillo. Mora only had LAFC goalkeeper Blackman left to beat but his shot hit the left post. Lucky enough, Asprilla was there to blast the rebound through the wall of defenders, cutting LAFC’s short-lived draw which made it 1-2. That made it Asprilla’s 8th goal of the season.

An intense match which Portland Timbers won 1-2 by suppressing LAFC’s intense pressure, extending their unbeaten run to seven games.