VANCOUVER – Denis Bouanga scored a pair of goals to power Los Angeles FC to a 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first leg of the 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday night at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
LAFC scored all three goals in a 10-minute second half span to register their second straight 3-0 away win in the 2023 SCCL.
The first chance of the night came for Vancouver in the 13’ through Tristan Blackmon with a stinging shot from the right edge of the area that LAFC GK John McCarthy did well to parry wide with his right hand.
LAFC started to find their way into the match and some magical playmaking from Carlos Vela set up the first big chance of the night for the visitors, with Vela floating in an inch-perfect pass into Bouanga, but the lowly struck volley from the latter was unable to find the target.
The game was asking for a big moment and it was duly delivered by Bouanga in the 56’, who received the ball outside the area, took a touch and fired a laser toward goal that scraped the underside of the crossbar and rippled the back of the net for a 1-0 LAFC lead.
LAFC were hungry for more and a heavy touch from the Vancouver defense allowed Kwadwo Opoku to swoop in and easily finish into net to make it a 2-0 LAFC lead in the 61’.
Bouanga was brimming with confidence and he produced another jaw-dropping score in the 65’ by receiving a pass from Vela, making a slick touch to avoid a pair of defenders and sending in a left-footed shot to extend the LAFC advantage to 3-0.
A stunned Whitecaps side tried to respond and almost pulled a goal back in the 72’, but Simon Becher’s snapped header sailed over the crossbar.
Vancouver were never able to pull a goal back, as LAFC saw things out to secure the commanding clean sheet victory.
