LAFC 2, Sporting Kansas City 1 | 2019 MLS Match Recap

LAFC left it late, but earned an exhilarating 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City.

To the rescue off the bench, Adama Diomande fired LAFC past Sporting with a winner deep into stoppage time. It was a physical match, rife with a red card, eight yellow cards and 28 fouls, but LAFC found a way to secure all three points.

It was SKC who struck first though Krisztian Nemeth in the 16th minute, with a clinical one-touch finish to the bottom corner assisted by Johnny Russell. In the buildup to Nemeth's goal, when LAFC attempted to play out from defense, referee Robert Sibiga inadvertently was hit with an attempted pass from Diego Rossi. SKC took control of the loose ball and, three passes later, Russell was in control to assist Nemeth. 

Rossi answered for LAFC immediately after halftime, beating Graham Zusi and whipping a low shot to the bottom corner. The Uruguayan scored LAFC's first MLS goal last season as well. They waited until just before the final whistle for Diomande's match-winner. 

Even with a trip to Panama against CAI Independiente for the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals looming on Wednesday night, Peter Vermes opted for a full-strength starting XI against LAFC. 

Goals

• 16' – SKC – Krisztian Nemeth | WATCH
• 47' – LAFC – Diego Rossi | WATCH
• 90+4' – LAFC – Adama Diomande

Three Things 

THE BIG PICTURE: LAFC found a way to win. It wasn't pretty, it didn't go perfectly to plan, but the result should galvanize the club to kick off the season. 

MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: What do you think the moment of the match might be? Here's Diomande's winner:

MAN OF THE MATCH: With that match-winning goal, it's Diomande. Eduard Atuesta deserves a shout as well, shielding the back line and even assisting Rossi's goal.

Next Up

• LAFC: Sunday, March 10 vs. Portland Timbers (7:30 pm ET | FS1, FOX Deportes in US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
• SKC: Wednesday, March 6 at CAI (8 pm ET | UDN, YahooSports.com)