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LAFC’s winless streak at 3 games after scoreless draw with Rapids

April 23, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Leaning on fresh legs for inspiration, the Los Angeles Football Club made several changes to the starting lineup that fell flat on Sunday in a lopsided loss to San Jose.

Those tweaks didn’t make much difference on Wednesday night, as the Colorado Rapids played LAFC to a scoreless draw at BMO Stadium.

For the Rapids, the result marked the first time in 10 matches across all competitions that they did not lose on the road to LAFC, which had outscored them 26-2 over that span.

As LAFC advances in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, maintaining its form in MLS play is proving increasingly challenging.

Wednesday’s outcome left LAFC winless in three consecutive league matches, taking one point out of nine.

Looking to turn the corner ahead of a trip to Minnesota before the two-leg Champions Cup semifinal against Deportivo Toluca FC, begins next Wednesday at BMO Stadium, LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos made three alterations to the team that suffered a 4-1 setback to the Earthquakes last weekend.

Entering the fray for the first time since rupturing his Achilles tendon last summer, center back and captain Aaron Long replaced Nkosi Tafari, who up to that point had started and played through the final whistle in each of the club’s 14 matches.

Forward Jacob Shaffelburg also received his initial start for LAFC (5-2-2, 17 points), opening alongside Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min.

Those moves did little to help LAFC’s attack through 45 minutes. At the break, the Black & Gold had not taken a shot and were out-possessed 76%-23%.

The Rapids (4-4-1, 13 points) dominated possession overall, holding the ball 71% of the time.

When LAFC found moments to push forward, Bouanga, Son and the rest of the players were unable to deliver a proper pass that threatened Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen.

Once again, Hugo Lloris stood firm at the opposite end, stopping a pair of first-half chances, as well as a deflection off of Long that required a quick reaction to avoid an own-goal in consecutive matches.

Long and forward Tyler Boyd were removed at halftime for Tafari and Timothy Tillman.

LAFC’s best chance of the match, though technically still not a shot on goal, came in the 56th minute when Mathieu Choinière struck a first-time shot that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced off the post.

Shaffelburg had a couple of decent looks, including LAFC’s first shot on target, before being removed in the 67th minute for David Martínez.

In the same moment, LAFC midfielder Stephen Eustáquio took the field for the first time since March 7, replacing Choinière, a fellow Canadian international.

A dead leg and subsequent setbacks in recovery prompted LAFC to send Eustáquio to recover in Portugal, where the medical staff for FC Porto, the club that loaned the Canadian to the Black & Gold through the end of June, helped him rehabilitate and return fully fit to L.A. on Friday.

His reintroduction comes at a key moment. LAFC has been challenged to compile points in league play while staying alive in the Champions Cup. After winning five straight, all by shutout, prior to Eustáquio’s exit from the lineup, LAFC had seven points in five games leading up to the midweek contest against the Rapids.

Colorado came into Wednesday’s match with 21 goals in league play, the second-best total in MLS, but was shut down, especially throughout the second half when Lloris did not have to deal with another shot on target.

LAFC finished with a pair of shots on target, and for the second straight match, neither Bouanga nor Son threatened to score.

More to come on this story.

Orange County Register

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LAFC’s winless streak at 3 games after scoreless draw with Rapids

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