LOS ANGELES — Denis Bouanga is back on track.
The Frenchman led the Los Angeles Football Club to its fourth consecutive shutout victory on Tuesday night, propelling his team to a big advantage over the Columbus Crew following the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 matchup pitting two of MLS’s most successful teams.
Ending its three-match losing streak to the Crew, including the 2023 MLS Cup and 2024 Leagues Cup finals, Bouanga and LAFC dominated their way to a 3-0 victory in the first match of the two-game series, which concludes next Tuesday in Ohio.
A two-goal game from Bouanga and one more goal for good measure by Nathan Ordaz puts LAFC in the driver’s seat as it seeks a spot in the tournament’s quarterfinal round next month.
“We haven’t beat Columbus yet,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “This is a two-leg series and we need to have another stellar performance in Columbus to move on in this competition.
“We still have our work cut out for us.”
Like Bouanga did in 2024, the French attacker needed five games to score his first goal of the season. The same for his second.
The prolific winger has made a habit of doing the spectacular since arriving in America in 2022, but his initial contribution in 2025 didn’t require anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it came gift wrapped courtesy his former teammate, friend and 2024 MLS Defensive Player of the Year Steven Moreira.
Stealing the ball off Moreira’s foot 35 yards from goal in the 20th minute, Bouanga charged toward Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. The attacker made a move to his left before tucking it away to give LAFC its first goal this season that came prior to halftime.
Bouanga said he felt the “unluckiness” and “bad juju” that bubbled up during his earlier frustrating performances immediately wash off of him.
At the break, Nancy removed Moreira, who had to watch from the sidelines when Bouanga connected once more a minute into the second half. This time the Frenchman showed all his quality in front of the 7,285 spectators at BMO Stadium.
Receiving the ball on the left from Jeremy Ebobisse, who started for the second match in a row in the No. 9 spot, Bouanga moseyed into the box and deftly floated a chip shot that kissed the underside of the crossbar.
“It’s always the question of a feeling,” said LAFC’s back-to-back 20-goal scorer, an MLS Golden Boot winner in 2023. “You feel the goal. You feel the weakness or the fragility of some defenders, and that’s what happened in both cases.”
Bouanga’s two-goal night gives him nine in CONCACAF play, surpassing Carlos Vela as LAFC’s top scorer in the competition.
“It was closer to normal for [Bouanga] than he’s been in the first couple of games,” Cherundolo said. “I think the first part of the season has been a little rough for him. He hasn’t been sharp. It was great to see Denis enjoy his football again. When he does that, then things click. I think the goals were really important for him.
“Tonight he put in a complete, full performance with the ball and without.”
LAFC gave itself breathing room in the 81st minute, when substitute Ordaz made good on one of his team’s abundant second-half chances. Off a corner kick by Bouanga, the redirected ball landed in front of Ordaz, whose one-timer off a half volley hit the upper corner.
Yet again LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris did not have much to do, making one save on the Crew’s only attempt on goal.
Through LAFC’s four-match shutout streak, opponents have just six shots on goal combined.
Fullback Sergi Palencia started his fifth straight match for LAFC. Earlier on Tuesday, CONCACAF’s disciplinary committee cleared the Spaniard of any discriminatory action after a complaint was lodged by Colorado Rapids player Chidozie Awaziem in the first round. The committee ruled Palencia used inappropriate language but not derogatory language, so he was available for Cherundolo and played through full time, helping deny Columbus a crucial away goal.
“It was a bit difficult for us physically in certain moments,” Nancy said. “My players gave it everything, but we lacked a certain moment of precision inside the box.
“Today we made a few mistakes that cost us.”
Lloris’ counterpart, Patrick Schulte, dealt with considerable pressure, facing 18 shots (nine on goal), making eight saves in the end.
Before the second leg, both teams have league matches. LAFC visits Seattle and Columbus plays host to Houston. This is the third time in eight years that LAFC qualified for the continental tournament. It has made the final twice, becoming the only MLS team to do so, but ultimately fell short against Mexico’s Tigres in 2020 and León in 2023.
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