In a perfect world, Saturday would have been the day that Sporting Kansas City visited Banc of California Stadium near downtown Los Angeles to face reigning Supporters' Shield champion LAFC.
As the suspension of Major League Soccer's 2020 season carries into May, Sporting fans and soccer addicts alike continue waiting patiently for action to return to the pitch. Until then, let's take a look back at both of Sporting's victories over LAFC from the 2018 season.
Sporting 2-0 LAFC (Aug. 11, 2018)
In the inaugural meeting between the clubs, Sporting earned a momentous 2-0 road win win over LAFC using goals from Gerso Fernandes and Ilie Sanchez. Gerso struck in the 17th minute and Ilie added a 66th-minute penalty kick as Sporting snapped LAFC’s 13-game home unbeaten run in all competitions and became the first visiting club to emerge victorious at the new Banc of California Stadium. This was the 350th win in club history and pushed Sporting's unbeaten run in the state of California to six matches at the time.
Sporting 2-1 LAFC (Oct. 28, 2018)
Upwards of 20,000 supporters were treated to a dramatic Decision Day as Manager Peter Vermes' men edged LAFC 2-1 to clinch first place in the Western Conference on the final day of the regular season at Children's Mercy Park.
In a showdown that was televised nationally on FS1, Roger Espinoza fired Sporting ahead with a stunning goal in the 37th minute. However, the hosts were reduced to 10 men on the hour mark when Seth Sinovic received a red card for a hand ball infraction inside the box. Mexican star Carlos Vela buried the ensuing penalty kick to draw LAFC level, only for Daniel Salloi to strike back in the 79th minute to seal a thrilling victory.
The memorable battle at sun-drenched Children’s Mercy Park pitted the top two teams in the Western Conference fighting for the division’s top seed, serving as the marquee matchup on Decision Day as 11 MLS contests unfolded simultaneously.
