Dénis Bouanga sure loves Concacaf Champions League nights.
LAFC’s potential Landon Donovan MLS MVP-caliber forward reached another level during the second half of Wednesday evening’s quarterfinal leg-one matchup at Vancouver Whitecaps FC, scoring twice and assisting another in a 3-0 win that puts the defending MLS Cup/Supporters’ Shield champions in prime position to reach the continental competition's semifinals.
Bouanga's performance was a near-replica of LAFC’s other CCL road match from early March, when the Gabon international produced a second-half hat-trick in a 3-0 victory at Costa Rican side Alajuelense.
For a squad that lost their leading scorer from last year – Colombian striker Cristian Arango was transferred to Liga MX’s Pachuca in early February – it’s their late-summer 2022 import from Ligue 2’s Saint-Étienne who’s steering the ship.
“He's kind of connecting the dots in this system and becoming very prolific for us,” head coach Steve Cherundolo said postgame at BC Place. “Just an incredible individual player who is now understood and understands our system a little better. We're getting him in better positions than we did last season.
“I see no reason why this should stop. He can continue in this manner as long as he stays healthy. He's very important for our squad after losing our No. 9 last season.”
Bouanga’s first goal, a frozen rope from roughly 30 yards out, opened the scoring in the 55th minute. Then the Designated Player weaved past several Vancouver defenders in the 65th minute before firing home a top-corner, left-footed shot – capping a 10-minute blitz from the visitors.
Those moments of individual brilliance stand out, but Cherundolo noted LAFC's No. 99 can be even more consistent.
“If I'm completely honest with you, I thought he was quite poor up until that goal,” said the former US international defender. “And [then] after that he was much better.
“At times things get a little too individual or complicated, but we are at our best when we are connecting more passes and finding Dénis in better positions to run at players in the box and not in midfield. Sometimes that gets a little mixed up, but he is smart enough and intelligent enough to figure it out. He did once again, so we're happy with how he finished the game.”
LAFC can finish the task when the CCL quarterfinal second leg arrives next Tuesday night at BMO Stadium. Even with Bouanga’s electric form and an aggregate/away goals cushion, Cherundolo was quick to caution how the series isn’t yet locked up – as the 2020 CCL finalists nearly learned the hard way against Alajuelense last month (2-1 loss, advanced on aggregate).
“Congratulations may be a bit premature,” Cherundolo noted. “We still haven't advanced, so this is a two-leg matchup and we need to finish the job in LA.
“I believe if we can perform in a similar manner as we did tonight, then I think we will advance. But we had the same results against our last opponent in the last round, Alajuelense, and it got a little shaky at home. So we are warned and we'll be ready for Tuesday.”
