Bogey Teams, Muller, Messi: LAFC’s Complete Route to 2025 MLS Cup

LAFC are set to kick off the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs and will be hoping to make a run to a second league title in club history.

Led by Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga, LAFC had an exceptional end to the season, winning six games in a row before dropping points in the penultimate and final games of the campaign.

That duo has been stellar, combining for 20 goals and elevating a challenging Western Conference team to actual contender status as they enter the postseason for the fourth straight year. Son himself has racked up nine goals and two assists in just 10 games since making his debut on Aug. 9 against Chicago Fire FC.

If the Black and Gold are to lift the Philip F. Anschutz trophy after the MLS Cup final on Dec. 6, they will have to play at least five games, and beat four teams in the process. The campaign begins against Austin FC, a side which LAFC haven’t beaten since 2023 and twice lost to in the regular campaign.

A delicious matchup against Thomas Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps potentially awaits in the Conference Semifinals before a theoretical MLS Cup showdown with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.

Should they go all the way, veteran midfielder Mark Delgado would become the 30th player in MLS history to win MLS Cup three times, and just the sixth player of all time to win the championship with three different clubs.

The playoffs will also be the final few matches for head coach Steve Cherundolo, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season.

Here’s the roadmap for LAFC in this year’s MLS Cup playoffs, and how Son could capture his second trophy of 2025, after previously winning the Europa League in his final few weeks with Tottenham Hotspur.