LOS ANGELES - Denis the menace.
LAFC forward Denis Bouanga has shifted into fifth gear as the Black & Gold preceded their upcoming 2025 FIFA Club World Cup participation with a 3-1 comeback win over Sporting Kansas City Sunday night at BMO Stadium, led by a 1g/2a performance from their Gabonese superstar.
Bouanga brings 'em back
Last weekend, Bouanga came up clutch for LAFC in the FIFA Club World Cup play-in match against LIGA MX's Club América, assisting the equalizer from a corner before scoring the game-winning goal in the 115th minute to earn a 2-1 victory worth nearly $10 million.
This week, he gave LAFC fans déjà vu in league play.
"We saw it last week against Club América. We saw it again today," defender Eddie Segura, whose header off a Bouanga corner kick canceled out Dejan Joveljić's opener right before halftime, told reporters post-match.
"For me, obviously, marking that goal today was big for the team, but I think [corners are] something that we practiced day in and day out, and that's been huge for us as a club."
Giroud too
The rest was all Bouanga as the perennial MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi contender showed off one of the many goal-creating abilities in his toolkit: drawing penalties. Continually terrorizing SKC defenders until he incited an ill-advised challenge, Bouanga sent himself to the spot for the winning penalty, which he nonchalantly dispatched into the back of the net in the 59th minute.
The Gabon international put the cherry on top of his memorable performance with a stoppage-time assist for Olivier Giroud to score in his second consecutive MLS match.
"That's been there since day one in training. You see that the two wanted to play together, wanted to connect," head coach Steve Cherundolo said of his attackers' budding relationship.
"I think the role of the last two games for Olivier coming in has been really good and it's been very important for us too. I think if he starts a game, I'm sure he will do as well.
"But coming in as a Joker and somebody to come in and hold the ball for us as he has been, and some key passes, and just a constant threat, is a very, very good tool to have off the bench."
History on the horizon
LAFC begin their inaugural Club World Cup campaign against Giroud's former team, English Premier League giants Chelsea, on June 16 at Atlanta United's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They'll then travel to Nashville SC's GEODIS Park for a matchup against Tunisian champions ES Tunis before closing Group D action at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, against Brazilian powerhouse Flamengo.
Bouanga, their star attacker, appears to be in peak form as the Black & Gold kick off the competition on a 10-match unbeaten streak across all competitions.
"Well, it's better than having him in a slump or the form he was in at the beginning of the season. 
How much that will affect our results, I don't know," Cherundolo said of the two-time MLS Best XI selection.
"It kind of depends on how we work as a collective during the Club World Cup. He'll be going up against a different caliber of defenders, but Denis is a special player and Denis understands the European game, played there many years, grew up in that system.

"We'll have solutions to get him isolated in good moments, like we did tonight. And tonight he was unstoppable. He was really, really good," Cherundolo said.
"Offensively, one of the best games I've seen from him."
