[MyDaily = Reporter Noh Chan-hyeok] Son Heung-min (LAFC) put in a strong shift despite the lopsided defeat and still earned the team's highest rating.
LAFC fell 4-1 at home to the San Jose Earthquakes in Round 8 of the 2026 MLS season at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on the 20th (Korean time). Son started as the team's lone striker but couldn't change the outcome.
San Jose opened the scoring eight minutes into the second half when Timo Werner delivered a low cross from the left and Ousseni Bawda tucked it away with a one-touch finish.
Three minutes later, Werner dribbled from the halfway line, beat a defender and finished with a right-footed shot to double the lead. The margin grew to three when Ryan Porteous put the ball into his own net in the 14th minute of the second half.
LAFC pulled one back in the 29th minute after San Jose defender Reed Roberts turned a cross into his own net, but Bawda struck again in the 35th to restore the three-goal cushion. The loss marked LAFC's second straight defeat; they remain third in the table but now trail second-place San Jose by five points.
It was Son's first four-goal defeat since joining LAFC, yet he still finished as the team's top-rated player. Statistics site SofaScore awarded him a 7, making him the only LAFC player to earn a rating in the 7s.
Son recorded 43 touches, five shots (two on target), an 88% pass success rate, one key pass, one successful dribble, four duels won and one tackle — a solid two-way performance.
Meanwhile, Son's former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Timo Werner was the standout. Werner finished with a goal and an assist, earning an 8.3 rating from SofaScore — the match-high — and was named Player of the Match.
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