Son Heung-min and Kim Ki-hee, full-time ‘Korean Derby’… LAFC lost 1-2 to Seattle

Son Heung-min played full-time in the final game of the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) regular league, but kept silent on scoring, and his team, Los Angeles FC (LAFC), was caught by the Seattle Sounders, played by former national team defender Kim Ki-hee.

LAFC lost 1-2 in the away game of the final round 34 of the 2026 MLS regular league against Seattle held at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, USA on the 8th (Korean time).

LAFC, which has already confirmed its advancement to the playoffs (PO), ended the regular season in 6th place in the Western Conference with 12 wins, 11 draws, 11 losses, and 47 points in 4 consecutive games without a win (2 draws, 2 losses).

With this win, Seattle rose to 46 points, ranked 8th in the Western Conference, and advanced to the wild card game.

In MLS, after playing 34 regular league games per team, teams up to 9th place in the Eastern and Western Conferences will compete for the championship.

The top 7th place in each conference will advance directly to the first round of PO in the quarterfinals, and the 8th and 9th place teams will aim for the last train to PO in the wild card match.

LAFC will clash with St. Louis, ranked 3rd in the regular league, in the first round scheduled to start on the 21st, and Seattle will meet Real Salt Lake in the wild card match on the 19th.

On this day, Son Heung-min started as a front-line striker for LAFC, which used a 4-2-3-1 formation, and played the full time. Son Heung-min, who failed to add attack points, recorded 7 goals and 15 assists in the regular league.

Kim Ki-hee, who had the opportunity as a starter in a league game for the first time in two months since the end of August, played until the end of the game as a center back in the four-back defense against Jackson Rays. Kim Ki-hee only played in 9 games in the MLS regular league this season due to injuries.

Seattle, which was ranked 10th in the Western Conference before this game and desperately needed a win for 'fall soccer,' opened fire with less than a minute left in the game.

LAFC goalkeeper Cabral Carter's pass was broken up inside the penalty area, and Albert Rusnak, who received Christian Roldan's pass, scored the first goal.

Then, in the 31st minute of the first half, Seattle's Sebastian Gomes added another goal.

LAFC, which finished the first half down 0-2, launched a more active offensive in the second half with Son Heung-min and Denis Buanga at the forefront.

LAFC suffered the unfortunate loss of Jacob Schappelberg, who was substituted as a right midfielder in the 27th minute of the second half, due to an injury about 7 minutes later. Eddie Segura scored a consolation goal from a free kick in the 37th minute of the second half, but was unable to escape the draw.

LAFC had 24 shots on this day, including 8 effective shots, but only scored one goal, while Seattle earned a valuable victory with an efficient game, scoring 2 goals with 5 shots and 3 effective shots.