The last time the Los Angeles Football Club played Minnesota United FC, late in the 2023 Major League Soccer regular season, Denis Bouanga became the first and only LAFC player to score three goals in a single half, propelling him to the Golden Boot award.
For Minnesota, the 5-1 loss at BMO Stadium essentially shut the door on a sixth consecutive postseason berth under the only head coach they ever knew, England’s Adrian Heath, who was fired two days later.
LAFC hopes to spoil the debut of Minnesota’s new boss, 32-year-old Eric Ramsay, the youngest head coach in MLS, who met his team face-to-face for the first time this week after securing a work visa three weeks into the regular season.
Sans Ramsay, Minnesota (2-0-1, 7 points) opened 2024 with a pair of road wins and a draw at home for interim head coach Cameron Knowles, who was named an assistant on the new staff.
Minnesota’s results have come without Argentine designated player Emanuel Reynoso, which is expected to change Saturday after the midfielder’s recovery from a knee injury.
“I’m fortunate I’m stepping into a situation that is fairly rosy,” Ramsay said. “Obviously Cam and the staff and everyone else who has been around the team has done a really good job up until this point. So I’m walking into something that feels solid and I’m not doing it on a completely blank slate.”
Ramsay’s debut training session with Minnesota came Tuesday, giving him a four-day buildup to the weekend.
LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo observed new formations and strategies from Minnesota in the early going while Ramsay’s influence was exerted virtually as he concluded duties as a first-team assistant under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
Cherundolo believes the situation can be exploited.
“They’ve got a couple games with it, but no way can they 1000% be set in that after one preseason and three league matches, so there is opportunity for us,” Cherundolo suggested Thursday. “But they’re full of confidence, a very athletic team, a team who seems to enjoy their new way of playing and leadership at the club, so we have our hands full. It’s always difficult in Minnesota, but I think especially so this time around.”
The Loons’ early success has been a collective effort.
Playing in each of their games for a total of 88 minutes, 23-year-old Tani Oluwaseyi has contributed on three of Minnesota’s six goals, and is tied with Diego Rossi and Lionel Messi with a pair of game-winning assists.
If Tani produces another score as a substitute against LAFC, he would be only the second player in MLS history with a four-game scoring streak off the bench (joining Jeff Cunningham, who did so with the Colorado Rapids in 2005).
Since Allianz Field opened in 2019, LAFC has tied MUFC in each of its four trips to Saint Paul.
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LAFC (1-1-1, 4 points) won’t need to plan on playing in a snowstorm for the second away day in a row, although chilly temperatures should hover in the mid-40s at kickoff.
With his fourth appearance of the year, LAFC midfielder Eduard Atuesta is in line to become the sixth Black & Gold player to eclipse 100 regular-season games. And the next start for Ryan Hollingshead will be the defender’s 200th in MLS.
LAFC AT MINNESOTA UNITED FC
When: 5:39 p.m. Saturday
Where: Allianz Field, Saint Paul, Minn.
TV/radio: Apple TV (Free)/710 AM, 980 AM