TAKEAWAYS | Rinse and Repeat

Eight days. Nine points. Ten goals scored. LAFC’s return from the World Cup break has been near-flawless.

Saturday night’s 4-0 win over Sporting KC was the Black & Gold’s fourth win in a row. LAFC is now tied on points with Vancouver and San Jose at the top of the conference — both the Whitecaps and Earthquakes have played fewer matches to this point, but only goal difference separates the sides.

It feels like everything is starting to click, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Heading into the All-Star Break this week, LAFC is ahead of last season’s pace in every major category:

LAFC through 18 matches in 2025 vs 2026

• 8 wins (2025) - 10 wins (2026)

• 29 points (2025) - 33 points (2026)

• 33 goals for(2025) - 34 goals for (2026)

• 24 goals against (2025) - 18 goals against (2026)

Otherwise, there isn’t much new to say this week. The Black & Gold were once again ruthless in transition against SKC. All four goals a result of hitting the space behind the opponent’s backline. Once again, LAFC found the first goal in the match and used that game state to their advantage — when LAFC has scored first this MLS season, they’re a perfect 10-0-0.

Again, now is the time to be racking up points. Regardless of opponent, it’s nice to see LAFC winning the games they're supposed to because looking ahead to August… woof! Eight matches in 28 days are on the horizon, including Leagues Cup tilts against the likes of Chivas and Toluca. And coming out of the All-Star break, LAFC travels to take on Vancouver.

Here are the takeaways from LAFC’s 4-0 win over SKC on Saturday night:

Travis’s New Favorite Pokémon

As you may or may not know, one of my podcast partners on Happy Foot Sad Foot is a bit of a Pokémon fan. We’ve had Pokémon debates with fans on postgame shows. We even play a wildly popular game of “MLS Player or Pokémon?” periodically on the show.

So, I don’t think I’m going out on a limb in saying this: Yevhen Cheberko has to be Travis’s new favorite Pokémon/MLS player. And he’s starting to grow on me as well.

I wanted to give the hybrid left back/center back a few games before I meted out any judgments on the acquisition. But so far, so good.

The SKC match was Cheberko’s most active offensively. Against the Galaxy, he shut down Joseph Paintsil in a display of his 1v1 defensive bona fides. He was equally as good against Xavier Gozo in midweek against Real Salt Lake. Against SKC, we got to see the added mobility and athleticism he brings to LAFC’s backline despite being a center back ostensibly playing at left back.

Cheberko popped up all over the field against SKC. He provided attacking support on the outside, overlapping Denis Bouanga on occasion when SKC sat deep. He formed a back three in LAFC’s buildup. He even tucked in to the midfield at times to provide an additional passing option when LAFC attempted to break down SKC with rotations out of midfield.

In every situation, Cheberko exhibited a confidence and competence on the ball going forward that LAFC lacked in the first half of the season. Eddie Segura acquitted himself defensively over long stretches, but his contributions with the ball were few and far between.

I suspect John Thorrington has more moves on the horizon. LAFC picked up an international spot from Montreal in a trade last week. But so far, so good with his initial move of this transfer window, providing LAFC with a much-needed attacking option from deep on the left without compromising defensive solidity.

He’s Learning

Forty-five minutes after making his first start following the World Cup break, Tim Tillman kicked up his feet. The midfielder was instrumental in the Black & Gold’s first goal, had a few vital interventions defensively, and was all-around solid in midfield.

But with his side up 3-0 at half, Marc Dos Santos removed Tillman in favor of Eddie Segura, who had started the previous two matches in his place.

I’ve heard a lot of criticism of MDS this season. Some of it has been a bit much for a head coach who started the season strong and guided his team to within a half of reaching the Concacaf Champions Cup final, but I agree that underutilization of his bench was a concern, especially considering the glut of games in a short period of time.

With Tillman returning from an injury and the match all but sewn up, MDS went to his bench early. It’s been part of a welcome trend as of late.

MDS has used all five substitutions in each of the last three matches. The timing of his first sub in the last three matches has been the 66th, 64th, and 45th minutes, respectively. The biggest benefactor in that period, 17-year-old midfielder Jude Terry, who hadn’t seen minutes in exactly two months until subbing on in the 85th minute to close out LAFC’s 3-0 victory at the Galaxy.

Even coaches can learn and grow.

What Did We Learn?

Not much, to be honest.

You would have thought a team like SKC, sporting one of the league’s worst defenses in terms of goals against, would have arrived at BMO Stadium hellbent on keeping things tight and making LAFC grind for every inch of the pitch in the offensive third. But from the kickoff, Raphaël Wicky’s side pressed high up the pitch, leaving ample space behind for LAFC’s attackers to exploit.

After LAFC opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a lightning-quick counterattack, it was basically rinse and repeat for the subsequent three goals. Son Heung-Min has goals in three straight matches. Bouanga has goals in three straight matches. Nearly all of them coming in transition. As we were already well aware, if you let LAFC play on the counter, they’re devastating.

And while that has seemingly unlocked Sonny’s scoring touch, and not a moment too soon, it’s left us still all wondering: can LAFC win games with the ball?

I don’t have an answer, although on Saturday I saw some promising signs. Despite SKC's insistence on a high line throughout much of the match, in the first half there were stretches when they sat deep and invited LAFC forward. In those moments, we saw some of the markers of a competent team attacking a low block.

LAFC moved the ball with tempo, probing SKC on both sides of the pitch, and at times finding players between the lines centrally. We saw overlapping runs from not one but both fullbacks at times. The spacing between players allowed for quick combinations and rotations. And probably most importantly in MDS’s mind, they didn’t turn the ball over in areas that exposed them in transition. In fact, when most moves were brought down, it was LAFC that was first to recover the ball.

Much is made of teams that can or can’t break down opponents with the ball, while the risks are rarely debated. After the match, MDS spoke about how interconnected attack and defense are in football.

“Every team that likes to dictate through possession has a weakness. Your strength offensively brings a weakness defensively. In our case, our strength defensively brings a very big strength offensively,” Dos Santos said after the match.

It’s becoming clearer what MDS values in his side. He wants LAFC to stay compact out of possession, even if that means sitting deep for long periods in a match. He recognizes it's the clearest path to get the most out of his best players without risking similar counterattacks going the other way. And it’s working! (as long as LAFC scores first, at least)

Against a low block or given possession, LAFC is still a work in progress. Again, I’m not telling you something you didn’t already know. But as you look at the teams sitting atop the Supporters’ Shield standings like Vancouver, Nashville, and Miami, you have to wonder if it’s not such a bad thing the Black & Gold have nearly perfected their counterpunch even if taking the initiative is still a work in progress.