Talk about an instant impact.
Chucky Lozano made his San Diego FC return on Saturday night, scoring a 77th-minute equalizer to spark a 3-2 victory at FC Dallas for the Western Conference leaders.
The Mexican superstar, who entered as a second-half substitute, recently recovered from a lower-body injury that forced him to miss the Concacaf Gold Cup.
Now, the MLS All-Star winger exits Matchday 21 with six goals and seven assists on the year.
“We knew Hirving was available from the 70th minute. We got him in as quickly as we could," head coach Mikey Varas said post-game.
"… You could see that he's going to take some time for him to get his fitness back, but he made the play that he needed to make to help the team. He starts that goal and he ends the goal."
Lozano's goal gave the expansion club hopes of taking all three points from Toyota Stadium, and Tomás Ángel completed the task with a 96th-minute winner.
The Colombian youth international subbed on at halftime for Manu Duah and delivered his third goal of the season in the game's dying moments.
"Game changers came off the bench and made an impact, and we got the 2-2, and we just kept going," Varas said.
"This is a valuable win because it shows we got heart, we got courage. Even when we're not playing our best, we can still find ways to win, and that's valuable."
San Diego have won four straight games, including three on the road, to reach second in the Supporters' Shield standings with 39 points.
They'll return to action on July 5 when hosting Houston Dynamo FC (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
"We know that we can be a lot better than that, and I think it's also a credit to the group that we have," Varas said.
"We have a big squad and we're facing adversity, but time and time again, these guys step up because they've got that winner mentality."
