National Writer: Charles Boehm<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Greg Vanney made a calculated gamble on Wednesday night and lost.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n His LA Galaxy<\/a> are wading through three games in eight days, every point precious as they try to climb out of the Western Conference basement and into the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs hunt. The head coach saw the need, though, to rotate Mathias \u201cZanka\u201d J\u00f8rgensen<\/a> in for Emiro Garc\u00e9s<\/a>, probably his side\u2019s top one-on-one defender, for Austin FC<\/a>\u2019s midweek visit to Dignity Health Sports Park, mindful of the latter\u2019s cautions accumulation ahead of Saturday\u2019s El Tr\u00e1fico battle vs. LAFC<\/a> (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cEmiro is sitting on four yellow cards at the moment. It’s a calculation with three games in the week, knowing also we play LAFC and they have Denis] Bouanga on the side that you have to defend,\u201d explained the coach after the frustrating [2-1 loss<\/a> to ATX.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cHoping that our two veteran center backs can hold the fort down in a game like tonight at home against a team that’s missing their primary forward, and we didn’t do it. So the calculation was wrong and that’s the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s an apt distillation of the power of Bouanga<\/a>, a winger so consistently menacing, so devastating on the dribble that even bitter crosstown rivals feel compelled to adjust, even well in advance of gameday.<\/p>\n Vanney\u2019s not the only coach in MLS facing this dilemma \u2013 with his tallies in the Black & Gold\u2019s recent wins over Dallas<\/a> and Minnesota<\/a>, Bouanga has already reached double-digits in goals this year, just as he did in his other two full seasons in MLS \u2013 his instincts are well-founded. With eight goals in eight Tr\u00e1fico appearances across all competitions, the French-Gabonese winger ranks as the third-leading scorer in the eight-year history of the rivalry, bested only by legends Carlos Vela (12 goals in 15 games) and Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107 (nine in six).<\/p>\n Few teams in the league are as dependent on a single player, especially considering LAFC\u2019s defense-oriented game model, and nowhere more so than against their chief antagonists, when the spotlight burns brightest. With his blistering speed, trickery on the ball, relentless physicality and expertise in transition, Bouanga is a Galaxy killer, and the two sides\u2019 ability to maximize or disrupt that track record figures to be a decisive factor in Saturday\u2019s marquee clash.<\/p>\n \u201cDenis remains an important part of our attack. One of the most dangerous players in the league,\u201d said his coach, Steve Cherundolo, this week.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can beat you with physicality, he can beat you with his technique, whether that be on the dribble or as a pure finisher. So he has many tools to break defenses down, and we rely on him to do that here at LAFC.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 20 and counting ????<\/p>\n Denis Bouanga takes the crown from Carlos Vela with the most game-winning goals in LAFC history ???? pic.twitter.com\/52lCvmy1N6<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 OneFootball (@OneFootball) July 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The younger of Los Angeles’ MLS clubs have been serial contenders since Bouanga arrived from Saint-\u00c9tienne in the summer of 2022, albeit with plenty of heartbreak at the final hurdle. The Black & Gold won a rare MLS Cup-Supporters’ Shield double a few months later, reached the Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> and MLS Cup finals in 2023, then won last year’s US Open Cup<\/a> while also reaching the Leagues Cup<\/a> final.<\/p>\n The highs and lows have been pronounced this year, too. Bouanga fired his side into the FIFA Club World Cup<\/a> with a dramatic extra-time winner<\/a> in the CWC play-in match vs. Club Am\u00e9rica in late May \u2013 \u201ca $10 million goal,\u201d as he put it afterwards in a playful nod to the event\u2019s massive purse.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the team and everyone, I think it\u2019s a huge moment. I think most of the players, and maybe even the club, won\u2019t do this again in four years. For me, it\u2019s a magical moment,\u201d said Bouanga in French. \u201cI think now we can say that we\u2019re one of the best teams in the world, just by being part of this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet he failed to convert a stoppage-time penalty kick in a 1-0 loss<\/a> to Esperance Sportive de Tunis that eliminated the Angelenos from advancement out of the CWC\u2019s group stage \u2013 all before rescuing some pride with a goal that delivered a 1-1 draw<\/a> against Brazilian powerhouse Flamengo in their final fixture.<\/p>\n His teammates, however, will tell you he\u2019s the same fierce competitor every single day, week in, week out \u2013 not just on matchday but on the training ground, where Bouanga is described as a voracious worker who hates the sound of the final whistle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are playing every three days \u2013 it\u2019s been fatiguing, it\u2019s been tiring these last couple months, and he wants to train,\u201d said fullback Sergi Palencia<\/a> this week. \u201cHe wants to finish the training, and he\u2019s shooting at the goalies, he wants to dribble, he wants to play small[-sided] games. So he’s crazy. He just wants to push, to play and to enjoy, and we are so thankful that we have these kind of players \u2026 We all have highs and lows. But because he’s so important for us, we all see if he’s a little more high or low.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n El Tr\u00e1fico hero<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Dominant attacker<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n